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S92i 


Southern  Branch 
of  the 

University  of  California 

Los  Angeles 

Form  L  1 

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1950 


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^.^n-r-H^FN    BRANCH 

U..;;?r:SITY  OP  C.UFORNIA 

LOS   ANGELES.  CALlF, 


INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY 
FOR  TEACHERS 


Introductory  Psycholoo:y 
for  Teachers 


JiV 


EDWARD  K.  SI  RONK;,  J; 

Professor  of  Vocational  lUuca^ioa 
Carneg;ie  Institute  of  Technology 


BALTIMORE 
WARWICK  &  YORK,  Inc. 

19  2  0 


copyright.  1919 
Warwick  &  York,  inc. 

BY 

copyright,  1920 

BY 

Warwick  &  York.  inc. 


To  My  Father  and  Mother 


PREFACE  I  q,  p  t^ 

Certain  principles  have  been  established  as  fundamental  to  good 
teaching.  Theoretically,  all  psychologists  are  agreed  that  a  course  of 
study  should  proceed  from  the  known  to  the  unknown  and  from  the 
concrete  to  the  general ;  that  students  should  learn  by  doing ;  that  the 
problem  or  project  method  of  teaching  is  superior  to  memorization  of  a 
textbook ;  that  functional  not  faculty  psychology  should  be  taught ;  that 
individual  differences  in  students  should  be  taken  into  account ;  that  a 
beginning  course  should  be  designed  for  the  benefit  of  the  great  ma- 
jority who  never  go  farther;  etc. 

The  aim  of  this  course  is  to  meet  these  and  other  ideals  of  teaching 
in  an  introductory  course  of  psychology  designed  primarily  for  the 
use  of  prospective  teachers.  Instead  of  beginning  with  the  most 
uninteresting  phases  of  psychology  and  those  most  unknown  to  stu- 
dents, the  course  takes  up  concrete  experiences  of  everyday  life, 
relates  them  to  the  problems  of  learning  and  individual  differences,  and 
so  develops  these  two  topics.  Each  general  principle  is  discovered  by 
the  student  out  of  his  own  experience  in  solving  specially  organized 
problems.  Only  after  he  has  done  his  best  is  he  expected  to  refer 
to  the  text  and  by  then  the  text  is  no  longer  basic  but  only  supple- 
mentary, clearing  up  misunderstandings  and  broadening  the  whole 
viewpoint.  Behavior  as  a  whole  is  considered  from  the  start ;  grad- 
ually it  is  subdivided  and  subdivided,  so  that  finally  such  topics  as 
"memory"  or  "attention"  can  be  discussed  without  fixing  in  the  mind 
of  the  student  the  idea  that  they  are  separate  entities.  And  in  general 
the  course  is  prepared  on  the  assumption  that  the  majority  of  students 
are  never  going  to  specialize  in  psychology  and  should  consequently 
be  given  the  most  interesting  and  useful  facts  and  principles  of  psy- 
chologv,  regardless  of  whether  or  not  they  are  usually  reserved  for 
graduate  students. 

As  the  author  has  planned  it,  this  course  is  followed  by  two  com- 
panion courses.  The  first  covers  the  general  topics  of  how  to  re- 
member, how  to  get  attention,  economical  learning,  analysis  and 
reasoning,  method  of  teaching,  drill  and  thought  work,  development 
of  ideals,  how  to  study,  etc.  The  second  course  takes  up  man's 
instinctive  equipment  and  applies  both  the  instinctive  and  habitual 
principles  of  behavior  to  social,  educational  and  industrial  problems. 
Following  such  a  broad  survey  of  the  most  useful  phases  of  psychology, 
can  come  the  m.ore  detailed  and  systematic  study  of  psychology  on  the 
part  of  students  who  are  genuinely  interested  and  can  devote  more 
than  a  year  to  the  subject. 

xi 


Xli  INTRODUCTORY   I'SYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHRRS 

The  course  is  conducted  in  a  radically  different  way  from  prevailing: 
courses.  The  student  is  immediately  introduced  to  problems  of  be- 
havior taken  as  a  whole  and  only  after  he  is  fairly  familiar  with  psy- 
chological procedure,  terminology  and  point  of  view  is  he  given  his 
psychological  background.  The  odd  numbered  lessons  present  prob- 
lems to  be  solved  and  the  even  numbered  lessons  supply  in  a  general 
way  answers  to  the  problems,  together  with  a  broader  interpretation  of 
the  facts  than  the  average  student  will  discover  for  himself.  For  ex- 
ample, Lesson  7  outlines  the  familiar  mirror-drawing  experiment. 
This  is  performed,  say  on  Monday.  That  night  the  experiment  is  written 
up  and  handed  in  at  the  class-hour  on  Tuesday .  That  hour  is  devoted 
to  a  general  discussion  of  what  was  discovered  in  the  experiment  on  the 
learning  process.  At  the  close  of  the  hour  Section  No.  4  is  g^ven  the 
class  containing  lessons  8  and  9.  The  class  reads  over  Lesson  8  on 
Tuesday  evening.  .\t  the  next  class-hour  Lesson  9  is  taken  up  in  the 
laboratory  in  the  same  way  as  Lesson  7.  Each  topic  is  handled  as 
follows:  (i)  the  student  performs  an  experiment  illustrating  the  prin- 
ciple to  be  emphasized,  (2)  he  solves  the  problem  as  best  he  can  an<l 
hands  in  his  report,  (3)  he  has  the  benefit  of  a  class  discussion  upon 
the  subject  at  the  next  class-hour,  (4)  he  reads  over  what  the  author 
has  to  say  on  the  subject,  (5)  he  receives  back  his  own  corrected 
paper  on  the  subject,  (6)  he  reviews  the  subject  once  about  every  eight 
class-periods.  All  class  discussion  is  based  upon  the  laboratory  experi- 
ences, not  upon  the  author's  presentation  of  the  subject.  The  latter 
is  only  a  supplementary  aid,  to  correct  misunderstandings  and  to  fur- 
nish the  student  a  standard  by  which  to  check  his  own  work. 

Individual  diiTerences  are  amply  provided  for  in  such  a  procedure. 
The  poor  student  obtains  a  concrete  grasp  of  the  main  ix)ints  of  the 
course.  The  able  and  industrious  student  adds  to  this  minimum  a  very 
much  broader  and  more  detailed  understanding  of  the  whole  subject. 
The  rate  of  progression  is  such  that  even  the  ablest  student  realizes  that 
he  is  not  getting  all  that  there  is  in  the  course.  All  are  thereby  stimu- 
lated in  a  way  that  is  not  true  when  the  rate  is  slow  enough  to  discuss 
thoroughly  every  detail  mentioned  in  the  text. 

The  course  can  be  conducted  as  a  4-hour  coutm.'  over  one  quarter, 
or  2  hours  over  two  quarters,  or  3  hours  over  one  semester.  The  laiiora- 
tory  equipment  can  he  su[)plied  for  $100. 

The  text  is  printed  as  a  book  or  in  the  form  of  17  lxx>klets.  The 
advantage  of  the  booklets  is  to  prevent  the  student  reading  ahead. 
This  is  important  as  the  even  numbered  lessons  contain  the  answers  to 
most  of  the  problems.  Where  students  read  ahead  they  lose  the  train- 
ing resulting  from  working  problems  out  for  themselves.     Experience 


PRBFACE 


has  shown  thcv  do  about  as  good  work  as  those  who  do  not  read  aheati 
during  this  first  course.  In  the  second  course,  however,  they  commence 
to  fall  by  the  wayside,  due  to  a  lack  of  grasp  of  the  subject  matter 
which  is  secured  by  students  who  work  out  the  y)rinciples  for  them- 
selves. 

So  many  have  been  of  general  inspiration  and  help  in  this  work  that 
space  will  not  permit  special  mention  of  their  services.  Several  who 
have  used  the  text  in  its  mimeographed  form  have  aided  in  a  very 
definite  way  in  revising  and  clarifying  sections.  They  are :  Miss  Kate 
Anthony,  vState  Normal  School.  Cape  Girardeau,  Mo.;  Professor 
C.  M.  Faithful,  Tennessee  College,  Murfree.sboro,  Tenn. ;  Pro- 
fessor S.  C.  Garrison,  ("ieorge  Peabody  College  for  Teachers;  Profes- 
sor W.  A.  McCall,  Teachers'  College,  Columbia  University,  and  Profes- 
sor J.  Roemer.  Sam  Houston  Normal  Institute.  Huntsville.  Texas. 
Professor  Y.  Shoninger.  George  Peabody  College  for  Teachers,  helped 
me  very  considerably  in  writing  up  the  description  of  a  "sight-sijelling 
lesson."  To  all  these  1  owe  very  much.  But  I  owe  most  to  my  wife, 
who  has  aided  botli  in  matters  of  expression  and  of  content  and  has 
checked  tables  and  "proof  read"  every  new  form  of  the  material, 
whether  script.  ty]>ed  or  mimeographed  or  printer's  proof. 

I  desire  also  to  express  my  appreciation  for  the  courtesy  of  authors 
and  publishers  for  permission  to  reproduce  illustrations.  I  am  indebted 
to  The  \merican  Book  Company  for  a  figure  from  D.  J.  Hill's  'The 
Elements  of  Psychology' :  to  Dr.  S.  A.  Courtis  and  the  Department  of 
Education.  University  of  Indiana,  for  a  figure  from  the  'Second  In- 
diana Educational  Conference  Report' ;  to  Dr.  Cotn-tis  and  The  World 
Book  Company,  for  figures  from  'Standard  Practice  Tests':  to  Dean 
I.  R.  Angell  and  Henry  Holt  and  Company  for  figures  from  'Psychol 
ogy';  to  Dr.  J.  D.  T.ickley  and  Longsmans.  Green  and  Company,  for  a 
figure  from  'The  Nervous  System';  to  Dr.  W.  B.  Pillsbury  and  The 
Macmillan  Company  for  a  figure  from  "Fundamentals  of  Psycholc^y' ; 
and  to  Dr.  K.  L.  Thorndike  for  figures  from  'Educational  Psychology', 
V6i.  III. 

CarneLHo   Institute  of  Technology.     August    i.    loio. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION 

Lesson     Page 

What    is    Phycliology  ? i  5 

THE  LHARXINC;  PROCESS 

Silnatif'ii,  Bond,  Response — Sicjlit  Spelling  Lesson _■  15  ^ 

3  18 

4  -21 

Learning  the  alphabet — How  to  porforni  an  experiment — How  to 
plot  a   learning  curve — How   to   v.rite  up  an   experiment — 

Characteristics   of   learning    curves 5  23 

6  27 

Learning    Mirror-Drawing — Speed    and    accuracy — Plateaus....            7  32 

8  37 

Different  Types  of  Learning 9  42 

Review    fo  At> 

Attitude,  Feeling  and  Method  as  Related  to  Learning 11  48 

12  49 

Learning    a    Vocalml.'iry — Rote    n-ieni<ir\ — \>>nei;(live    shifting..           12  57 

14  61 

Retention — Effect   of   time   interval   upon   retention — Relearning 

Primary  and  secondary  retention — Memory  span J5  69 

16  73 

Factors  Affecting  Strength  of  Bond — Repetition — interference — 

Intensity — Reorganization — Recenc.v — Effect 17  Sf 

«8  83 

Reflexes.   Instincts,   Habits — General   Summary — Review lO  02 

I X DI VI DUAL  DIFFERENCES 

The  Average  Deviation  as  a  Measure  of  Individual  DifTerences. .         20  oS 
Individual  Differences  as  Found  in    (a)    Mirror-Drawing,   (b) 
Kansas     Silent     Reading     Test,     (c)     Simple     arithmetical 

processes   21  1  oo- 

22  J  03 

22  io<> 

Effect  of  Environment.   Here<lily  and   Training 24  U5 

Normal  Surface  of  Distribution — Theory  of — Applied  to  typical 

individual  differences — Overlapping  of  children  in  the  grades         25  I2(<- 

26  120 

3 


4  IXTKOlH'CiOkV    I'SVCllOKOC.Y    I'OU   TKAClI  liKS 

TABLli  UF  COXTEXTS  (Continued) 

Lesson  I'age 

Methods   of   Grading   Students 2/  140 

28  143 

I>iagnosis  of  Ability  in  terms  of  Learning  Curves — Diagnosis  of 

ahilily— Use  of  learning  curves  in  teaching 28  143 

29  155 

30  159 

Udividual    Dififerences    and    Educational     Procedure— Courtis 

Standard   Practice  Tests ^ 30  I59 

Coefficient  of  Correlation 3^  169 

Review   32  I77 

33  179 

SOME  PHYSIOLOGICAL  ASPECTS  OF  PSYCHOLOGY 

Introduction   34  180 

Mechanism  by  which  Situations  Stimulate  Us— Cutaneous  and 

kinaesthctic  sense-organs— The  eye—Other  sense-organs 35  184 

36  193 

Space   Perception 37  201 

38  205 

39  211 

Mechanism  by  which  Responses  are  Made— -Muscular  action- 
Fatigue  and  exhaustion ' 38  205 

Mechanism    of    the    Connecting     System— The    neurone    and 

synapse— The  lower  and  intermediate  levels— The  upper  level        40  215 

41  221 

Summary 41  228 

(General    Review  of   the  Course 42  229 

43  229 

44  229 

fn^CK  231-233 


LESSON  1— WHAT  IS  PSYCHOLOGY?* 

Some  01  you  are  doubtless  familiar  with  the  story   from  which  the 
follovvin<;-  im-i(lent  is  quoted.  •  Rut  it  bears  repeating'. 

S2un  had  never  told  his  love;  he  was,  in  fact,  sensitive  about  it. 
This  meeting  with  the  lady  was  by  chance,  and  altho  it  afforded 
exquisite  moments,  his  heart  was  beating  in  an  unaccustomed  man- 
ner, and  he  was  suffering  from  embarrassment,  being  at  a  loss,  also, 
for  subjects  of  conversation.  It  is,  indeed,  no  easy  matter  to  chat 
easily  with  a  person,  however  lovely  and  beloved,  who  keeps  her 
face  turned  the  other  way,  maintains  one  foot  in  rapid  and  con- 
tinuous motion  thru  an  arc  seemingly  perilous  to  her  equilibrium,  and 
confines  her  responses,  both  affirmative  and  negative,  to  "U-huh." 
Altogether,  Sam  was  sufficiently  nervous  without  any  help  from 
Penrod,  and  it  was  with  pure  horror  that  he  heard  his  own  name  and 
Mabel's  shrieked  upon  the  ambient  air  with  viperish  insinuations. 
"Sam-my  and  May-bul!  Oh,  Oh!" 

Sam  started  violently.  Mabel  ceased  to  swing  her  foot,  and  both 
encarnadined,  looked  up  and  down  and  everywhere  for  the  in- 
visible but  well-known  owner  of  that  voice.  It  came  again,  in 
taunting  mockery. 

"Sammy's  mad,  and  I  am  glad, 
And  I  know  what  will  please  him, 
A  bottle  of  wine  to  make  him  shine, 
And  Mabel  Rorebeck  to  squeeze  him!" 
"Fresh    old    thing!"    said    Miss    Rorebeck,    becoming    articulate. 
And,   unreasonably   including  Sam   in  her  indignation,    she   tossed 
her  head  at  him  with  an  unmistakable  effect  of  scorn.  She  began  to 
walk  away. 

"Well.  Mabel."  said  Sam  plaintively,  following,  "it  ain't  my  fault. 
I  didn't  do  anything.     It's  Penrod." 

"I  don't  care — "  she  began  pettishly,  when  the  viperish  voice  was 
a?:ain  lifted. 

*The  relationship  between  class-room  work  and  assignments  will  be  shown  in  each 
Section  by  an  outline,  as  follows: 


CLASS  HOUR 


IN  CLASS 

Introduction 

Discuss    Lesson     I 

Visit     Ist    Grade 


WRITE-UP 


READ 


Lesson    1 
Lesson    2 


Lesson    3 


6  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  TOR  TEACHERS 

"Oh.    oh.    oh! 
Who's  your  beau? 
Guess  I  know: 

Mabel  and  Sammy,  oh,  oh,  oh! 
I  caught  you!" 

Then  Mabel  did  one  of  those  things  which  eternally  perplex  the 
slower  sex.  She  deliberately  made  a  face,  not  at  the  tree  behind 
which  Penrod  was  lurking  but  at  the  innocent  and  heartwrung  Sam. 
"You  needn't  come  limpin'  after  me,  Sam  Williams!"  she  said,  tho 
Sam  was  approaching  upon  two  perfectly  sound  legs.  And  then 
she  ran  away  at  the  top  of  her  speed. 

"Run,  nigger,  run — "  Penrod  began  inexcusably.  But  Sam  cut 
the  persecutions  short  at  this  point.  Stung  to  fury,  he  charged  upon 
the  sheltering  tree  in  the  Schofield's  yard.* 

Why  is  it  that  this  account  is  interesting  to  us?  Why  did  Sam  and 
Mabel  enjoy  bein^-  together?  Why  were  they  so  nervous  and  uneasy? 
Why  did  Penrod  call  out  as  he  did?  Why  did  Mabel  get  mad  at  Sam? 
Why  did  she  run  away?  Why  did  Sam  get  mad?  What  happened 
when  Sam  reached  Penrod? 

At  this  point  some  of  my  students  have  seemed  to  stop  and,  with 
lifted  eyebrows,  to  question  silently,  "Is  this  a  game  of  twenty  ques- 
tions? and  twenty  foolish  questions  at  that?  Can  this  be  psychology? 

It  is.  All  these  questions  are  real  psychological  problems,  quite  as 
pertinent  to  the  science  of  psychology  as  the  dignified  and  dry-as- 
dust  queries  you  doubtless  expected. 

What  then  is  i^sychology? 

In  commencing  any  new  course  of  study  it  is  necessary  to  have  some 
idea  of  what  the  whole  thing  is  about.  At  the  same  time  it  is  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  obtain  a  clear  notion  since  most  of  the  details  arc 
unknown  to  the  beginner.  It  is  only  after  one  has  experienced  details 
that  he  is  in  a  position  to  understand  any  summary  of  them.  Conse- 
quently the  following  definition  is  just  to  aid  the  student  in  orienting 
himself.  Only  toward  the  end  of  the  course  will  he  be  prei)ared  to 
grasp  its  full  meaning. 

Psychology  may  best  be  defined  as  the  science  of  behavior. 

There  is  the  definition.  The  matters  dealt  with  in  the  next  ten  sec- 
tions will  give  some  of  the  various  fields  included  in  its  bounds. 

(  1  )       A  crowd  surrounded  the  automobile  of  Dr.  John  Linder  of 

1509    Eastern    Parkway,    Brooklyn,    yesterday,    when   the   physician 

stopj)ed  at  Glenmore  and  Vesta  Avenues  after  a  dog  had  dodged 

beneath  the  auto's  wheels  and  had  been  killed.     There  were  men  and 

"Booth    Tarlcinglon --"Penrod    and    Sam,"    1916,    pp.    220-222. 


LESSON   I  7 

women  in  the  throng  and  they  seemed  to  think  that  the  physician 
had  not  tried  to  avoid  the  dog. 

Dr.  Linder  endeavored  to  explain  that  the  most  expert  of  motor- 
ists could  not  have  dodged  the  dog,  which  ran  barking  beside  the 
wheels  of  his  auto  and  finally  slipped  under  them.  The  crowd 
muttered  angrily  about  motorists  who  had  no  thought  for  human 
lives,  let  alone  the  life  of  a  dog,  and  Dr.  Linder,  realizing  that  the 
crowd  soon  might  become  dangerous,  tried  to  start  his  car. 

His  action  aroused  several  men  in  the  crowd  who  had  been  work- 
ing themselves  into  a  fury,  and  one  of  them  struck  out  at  the  doctor 
with  his  fist.  The  physician  ducked,  and  reaching  in  his  pocket, 
jerked  out  a  glittering  object  of  nickel  which  he  thrust  into  his  as- 
sailant's face,  exclaiming: — 

"Stand  off.  Get  back  from  this  car.  I'll  shoot  the  first  man  who 
interferes  with  me." 

The  man  who  had  struck  at  the  physician,  with  all  the  rest  of  the 
crowd,  fell  back  hastily,  and  Dr.  Linder,  seizing  the  opportunity, 
applied  the  power  to  his  car  and  slipped  away.  John  Cargill,  a 
blacksmith  of  the  neighborhood,  noted  the  number  of  the  doctor's 
car,  however,  and  hurried  to  the  New  Jersey  Avenue  Court  where 
he  got  a  summons  for  the  physician,  calling  on  him  to  show  cause 
why  he  shouldn't  be  punished  for  violation  of  the  Sullivan  Law 
against  carrying  weapons.  The  physician  had  scarcely  arrived  at  his 
home  when  the  summons  was  served  and  he  hurried  back  to  court 
in  his  automobile. 

Cargill  was  present  and  Dr.  Linder,  after  explaining  the  accident 
to  Magistrate  Naumer,  declared  that  Cargill  had  been  particularly 
aggressive. 

"He  had  a  mob  at  his  back,"  said  the  doctor,  "and  I  was  really 
afraid  they  would  attack  me." 

"But  your  revolver?"  questioned  Magistrate  Naumer.  "Do  you 
not  know  that  under  the  present  law  you  may  not  carry  a  weapon 
without  a  permit?" 

"Why,  I  only  threatened  the  crowd  with  this,"  replied  the  phy- 
sician as  he  pulled  something  from  his  pocket  and  snapped  it  into 
the  Magistrate's  face.  There  was  a  small  report,  and  Magistrate 
Naumer  clutched  spasmodically  at  the  desk  in  front  of  him.  Then 
he  burst  into  a  laugh  as  he  observed  the  glittering  nickel  cigar 
lighter  which  Dr.  Linder  held  in  his  hand. 

Dr.  Linder  would  not  make  a  charge  against  Cargill,  and  the 
smith  hurried  out  of  the  courtroom  to  the  accompaniment  of  laugh- 
ter in  which  every  one  joined.'^ 

*.\ew  York  Times,    1  0  I  I 


8  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TRACHERS 

Why  should  a  crowd  become  ani^rv  because  a  dog  had  been  killed  r 
Would  Cargill  have  become  as  angry  if  he  had  been  alone  as  he  did 
when  surrounded  by  a  crowd  ?  Why  did  the  crowd  think  Dr.  Linder  had 
a  gun  ?  Why  did  Cargill  want  the  doctor  arrested  ?  Why  did  the  crowd 
in  the  courtroom  all  laugh  at  Cargill  ?  Why  have  you  also  enjoyed  Car- 
gill's  discomfiture? 

(2)  A  frequent  sight  is  that  of  little  boys  fighting.  Why  do 
they  like  to  fight?  Why  does  a  woman  want  to  stop  them  fighting? 
Why  will  men  pay  half  a  million  dollars  to  sit  in  the  broiling  sun 
and  see  a  prize  fight? 

(3)  Consider  any  advertisement  before  you.  What  situation  is 
depicted?  Does  it  in  any  way  express  your  feelings?  Could  the  ad- 
vertisement be  changed  so  that  it  would  present  a  situation  that 
would  make  you  really  want  the  commodity  advertised? 

(4)  Consider  the  following  cases: — 

(  I  )  A  college  professor  discovers  that  a  wealthy  old  bach- 
elor keeps  a  large  amount  of  money  hidden  in  his  house.  After 
weeks  of  clever  work  he  discovers  where  this  money  is  kept  and 
finally  obtains  a  pass  key.  One  night  he  enters  the  house,  secures 
the  money  and  on  being  discovered  by  the  bachelor,  kills  him. 

(2)  A  young  man  by  the  name  of  Black  from  a  prominent 
family  is  engaged  to  marry  Miss  Smith.  Mr.  Jones,  altho  knowing  of 
the  engagement,  deliberately  makes  love  to  Miss  Smith  and  event- 
ually supplants  Black.  WTien  Black  discovers  the  fact,  in  a  fury 
of  rage,  he  kills  Jones. 

(3)  C  is  attacked  bj--  a  burglar  in  his  own  home  and  after  a 
struggle,  kills  the  burglar. 

(4)  D  recklessly  drives  his  auto  thru  the  streets  of  a  village 
and  kills  a  young  boy. 

(5)  E  attacks  two  little  boys  in  the  woods  and  after  tor- 
turing them  for  sometime,  finally  cuts  one  of  them  to  pieces  with 
a  razor. 

In  these  five  cases  a  man  has  killed  another  human  being.  Each  is  a 
murderer.  Why  shouldn't  all  be  hung  for  their  crime?  Your  answer, 
of  course,  is  that  the  circumstances  are  different.  Can  we  conclude 
that  the  five  men  are  different  sorts  of  men  on  the  basis  of  the  drcum- 
stances  which  are  presented?  How  can  we  evaluate  their  conduot?  in 
terras  of  their  action,  or  in  terms  of  the  situations  which  confronted 
Ihem,  or  in  terms  of  both  situation  and  response  ? 

(5)  All  respectable  school  teachers  spend  some  time  every 
year  condemning  prize  fights,  bull  fights,   gambling,   drinking,    etc. 


LESSON    1  9 

Elspecially  is  this  true  of  women  teachers.  Yet  two  of  my  acquaint- 
ances when  visiting  the  exposition  at  San  Diego  several  years  ago. 
rode  down  to  Tia  Juana,  in  Mexico,  and  very  much  enjoyed  a 
prize  hght,  lost  a  quarter  at  each  of  the  gambling  tables  in  the 
"joint"  there,  and  afterwards  loudly  berated  their  fate  because 
they  arrived  too  late  for  the  bull-fight.  Is  it  conceivable  that  the 
diflFerence  in  the  situations  which  confront  them  at  home,  in  the 
school,  or  at  Tia  Juana,  is  responsible  for  strong  condemnation  of  a 
prize  fight  in  one  place  and  attendance  at  and  enjoyment  of  one  in 
another  place? 

Do  you  think  it  possible  to  set  down  all  the  details  making  up  the 
situation  which  confronts  one  and  then  to  record  the  response  made 
to  this  complex  situation?  If  we  knew  all  the  details  would  we  be 
able  to  prophesy  what  a  person  would  do?  Cannot  I  be  certain  that 
you  will  say  to  yourself  "7"  ^nd  then  "cat"  after  reading  the  next  two 
sentences  ?    What  does  3  and  4  make  ?    What  does  c-a-t  spell  ? 

(6)  A  man,  walking  with  a  friend  in  the  neighborhood  of  a 
country  village,  suddenly  expressed  extreme  irritation  concerning 
the  church  bells,  which  happened  to  be  pealing  at  the  moment.  He 
maintained  that  their  tone  v/as  intrinsically  unpleasant,  their  har- 
mony ugly,  and  the  total  effect  altogether  disagreeable.  The  friend 
was  astonished,  for  the  bells  in  question  were  famous  for  their  singu- 
har  beauty.  He  endeavored,  therefore,  to  elucidate  the  real  cause  un- 
derlying his  companion's  attitude.  Skilful  questioning  elicited  the 
further  remark  that  not  only  were  the  bells  unpleasant  but  that  the 
clergyman  of  the  church  wrote  extremely  bad  poetry.  The  causal 
'complex*'  was  then  apparent,  for  the  man  whose  ears  had  been 
offended  by  the  bells  also  wrote  poetry,  and  in  a  recent  criticism  his 
work  had  been  compared  very  unfavorably  with  that  of  the  clergy- 
man. The  "rivalry-complex"  thus  engendered  had  expressed  itself 
indirectly  by  an  unjustifiable  denunciation  of  the  innocent  church 
bells.  The  direct  expression  would,  of  course,  have  been  abuse  of 
the  clergyman  himself  or  of  his  works. 

It  will  be  observed  that,  without  the  subsequent  analysis,  the  be- 
haviour of  the  man  would  have  appeared  inexplicable,  or  at  best 
ascribable  to  "bad  temper.  "  "irritability,  "  or  some  other  not  very 
satisfying  reason.  Most  cases  where  sudden  passion  over  some  trifle 
is  witnessed  may  be  explained  along  similar  lines,  and  demonstrated 
to  be  the  effect  of  some  other  and  quite  adequate  cause.  The  ap- 
parently incomprehensible  reaction  is  then  seen  to  be  the  natural 
resultant  of  perfectly  definite  antecedents.* 


«B.  Hart,  The  Psychology  of   Insanity.    1912,  p.    73-7-J 


10  INTRODUCTORY   I'SVCHOLOGY   1-*0R  TEACHERS 

Did  }0u  ever  "fly  off  the  handle"  at  a  perfectly  innocent  jierson? 
Have  you  ever  ridiculed  a  person's  clothes  when  the  only  trouble  with 
the  clothes  was  that  the  wearer  had  beaten  you  out  in  an  examination? 
If  your  friends  w^ere  aware  of  one  or  more  of  such  complexes,  as 
Hart  has  described  above,  would  it  help  them  in  understanding  your 
conduct?  Would  it  help  them  to  prophesy  what  you  would  do  next? 

(7)  Now  I  want  to  be  a  nice,  accommodating  patient;  anything 
from  sewing  on  a  button,  mending  a  net,  or  scrubbing  the  floor,  or 
making  a  bed.  I  am  a  jack-of-all-trades  and  master  of  none! 
(Laughs;  notices  nurse.)  But  I  don't  like  women  to  wait  on  me 
when  I  am  in  bed;  I  am  modest;  this  all  goes  because  I  want  to  get 
married  again.  Oh,  I  am  quite  a  talker;  I  work  for  a  New  York 
talking  machine  company.  You  are  a  physician,  but  I  don't  think 
you  are  much  of  a  lawyer,  are  you?  I  demand  that  you  send  for  a 
lawyer.  1  want  him  to  take  evidence.  By  God  in  Heaven,  my 
Saviour,  I  will  make  somebody  sweat!  I  worked  by  the  sweat  of 
my  brow.  (Notices  money  on  the  table.)  A  quarter;  twenty-five 
cents.  IN  GOD  we  trust;  United  States  of  America;  Army  and 
Navy  Forever!"* 

The  preceding  paragraph  and  the  one  that  follows  are  verbatim 
copies  of  the  remarks  of  tw.o  different  individuals.  The  former  is  that 
of  a  maniac  and  illustrates  what  is  called  "flight  of  ideas" ;  the  latter  is 
that  of  a  dementia  praecox  patient  and  illustrates  "incoherent  speech." 

"What  liver  and  bacon  is  I  don't  know.  You  are  a  spare;  the 
spare;  that's  all.  It  is  Aunt  Mary.  Is  it  Aunt  Mary?  Would  you 
look  at  the  thing?  What  would  you  think?  Cold  cream.  That's  all. 
Well,  I  thought  a  comediata.  Don't  worry  about  a  comediata.  You 
write,  he  is  writing.  Shouldn't  write.  That's  all.  I'll  bet  you  have  a 
lump  on  your  back.  That's  all.  1  looked  out  the  window  and  I 
didn't  know  what  underground  announcements  are.  My  husband 
had  to  take  dogs  for  a  fit  of  sickness.** 

Offhand  one  wouldn't  say  that  there  was  any  order  or  system  to 
these  two  paragraphs,  particularly  the  second  one.  And  experts  have 
more  or  less  held  that  view  until  recently,  when  careful  study  com- 
menced to  show  that  there  were  rules  and  principles  underlying  even 
the  ravings  of  the  insane.  Some  day  these  will  be  as  thoroughly  under- 
stood as  are  physical  and  chemical  laws  today. 

(8)  Beliefs  have  been  held  as  peculiarly  one's  own,  and  so  in- 
tangible that  no  one  until  recently  has  dreamed  of  measuring  them. 


*J.   R.  deFursac,   Manual  of   Psychiatry,  translated  by  A.   J.   RosanofF.    1908,  p.    71. 
**J.  R.  deFursac,  op.  cit.,  page  72. 


LESSON   I  II 

Yet  below  there  are  given  nine  beliefs  making  up  a  sort  of  scale  ex- 
tending from  absolute  belief  (100)  thru  doubt  (0)  to  absolute  dis- 
belief (-100).  This  scale  is  very  imperfect,  being  based  on  but  a 
limited  number  of  men  and  women,  but  it  illustrates  what  can  be 
done  along  the  line  of  measuring  intangible  things. 

2  plus  2  equals  4.  99 

There  exists  an  all  wise  Creator  of  the  world  73 

A  house-fly  has  six  feet  47 

The  most  honest  man  1  know  will  be  honest  ten  years 

from  now.  2  1 

"Blessed  are  the  meek  for  they  shall  inherit  the  earth."    -2 
Magna  Charta  was  signed  in  1  5  1  2.  -22 

"It  never  rains  but  it  pours."  -53 

"Only  the  good  die  young.  '  -74 

2  plus  4  equals  7.  -99 

If  one  wishes  to  determine,  for  example,  how  strongly  he  believes  that 
"dark-haired  girls  are  prettier  than  light-haired  ones,"  he  can  compare 
it  with  those  statements  above  and  so  obtain  a  rating  for  it.  The  writer 
cannot  comprehend  why  the  average  man  should  rate  this  belief  half- 
way between  the  fifth  and  sixth  beliefs  on  the  "scale,"  and  the  average 
woman  half-wa\-  l^etween  the  sixth  and  seventh.     But  they  do. 

(9)  From  the  New  York  Times  of  about  May  i,  1914.  is  quoted 
the  following  editorial  comment  on  an  article  I>y  a  Superintendent  "t 
a  Connecticut  brass  works  which  appeared  in  The  Iron  Age. 

At  these  works  there  was  recently  constructed  a  long  incline  up 
which  heavy  loads  were  to  be  wheeled  in  barrows,  and  premiums 
were  ofiFered  to  the  men  who  did  or  exceeded  a  certain  amount  of 
this  labor.  They  attempted  it  vigorously,  but  none  succeeded  in 
earning  any  of  the  extra  money,  instead  they  all  fell  considerably 
below  the  fixed  task. 

Prompt  investigation  by  an  expert  disclosed  that  the  trouble  lay 
in  the  fact  that  the  men  were  working  without  sufficiently  frequent 
periods  of  rest.  Thereupon  a  foreman  was  stationed  by  a  clock,  and 
every  twelve  minutes  he  blew  a  whistle.  At  the  sound  every  bar- 
rowman  stopped  where  he  was,  sat  down  on  his  barrow,  and  rested 
for  three  minutes.  The  first  hour  after  that  was  done  showed  a  re- 
markable change  for  the  better  in  accomplishment;  the  second  day 
the  men  all  made  a  premium  allowance  by  doing  more  than  what 
had  been  too  much;  and  on  the  third  day  the  minimum  compensation 
had  risen,  on  the  average,  40  per  cent,  with  no  complaints  of  over- 
driving from  any  of  the  force. 


12  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

Apparently  a  man  can  do  more  physical  labor  l)y  vvorkinj^"  12  minutes 
and  resting-  3  minutes  out  of  every  15  than  he  can  if  he  works  all  of 
every  15  minute  period  throughout  the  day.  This  principle  is  one  of  the 
fundamental  principles  underlying  scientific  management,  which  has 
been  so  nuich  discussed  of  late  in  various  publications.  Possibly  this 
principle  might  be  utilized  by  you  in  your  daily  life.  But  you  may 
need  to  know  considerably  more  of  the  whole  subject  before  making 
the  proper  application  of  it  to  your  particular  type  of  work. 

(10)  How  long  does  it  take  to  say  the  alphabet?  And  how 
much  time  is  required  for  one  to  say  it  backwards?  And  having 
said  it  once  will  one  be  able  to  recite  it  faster  on  a  second  trial? 
In  Plate  I  is  shown  graphically  just  how  much  time  is  required  to 
recite  the  alphabet  forwards  (i.  e.,  6.0  seconds)  and  backwards 
(i.  e.,  46.0  seconds),  and  furthermore  how  much  time  is  required 
for  each  successive  recitation  up  to  twenty  times.  An  average  adult 
will  decrease  his  time  from  6.0  to  4.0  seconds  in  the  one  case  and 
from  46.0  to  1  2.5  seconds  in  the  second  case. 

Why  do  we  thus  improve  with  practice?  And  how  is  the  improve* 
ment  accomplished?     Where  are  the  changes  registered? 

Such  a  simple  performance  as  that  of  saying  the  alphabet  is  after  all 
very  complicated.  Watching  a  child  mastering  its  intricacies  gives  us 
some  little  appreciation  of  this  fact.  Involved  in  this  case  are  many 
of  the  problems  of  education — problems  which  are  also  fundamental 
psychological  ones.  We  meet  similar  problems  on  every  hand.  Today 
a  human  being  may  be  unable  to  use  a  typewriter,  or  swim,  or  dance, 
or  play  golf,  or  run  a  motor  boat ;  he  may  know  nothing  about  banking, 
or  politics,  or  how  to  fry  a  steak,  or  make  a  cake,  or  trim  a  hat.  Yet  in 
a  short  time  we  may  find  he  has  acquired  any  or  many  of  these  per- 
formances. This  is  such  a  common  occurrence  we  pay  little  a'tenrifin 
to  it.  But  the  more  we  consider  the  matter  the  more  we  should 
marvel  at  it.  How  does  a  person  learn  to  typewrite?  How  comes  it 
that  his  fingers  hit  the  right  keys  altho  his  eyes  are  on  the  sheet  from 
which  he  is  copying?  Or  take  another  experience  thru  which  we  have 
all  gone.  How  have  we  come  to  know  that  7  plus  6  is  13  or  that  7 
times  6  is  42  ?  Have  all  persons  learned  these  two  performances  in  the 
same  way?  Is  there  one  best  way  to  learn  them?  If  so,  what  is  it? 
Why  is  it  that  some  never  can  learn  such  things. — for  we  have  known 
boys  and  girls  and  even  men  and  women  who  can't. 

What  has  been  given  in  this  chapter  could  be  extended  indefinitely  so 
as  to  bring  in  incidents  dealing  with  the  differences  between  whites 
and  negroes  or  Chinese :  problems  dealing  with  poverty  and  its  origin,  or 


LESSON    I 


13 


14  INTRODUCTORY   I'SYCHOLGCV   FOR  THACHJiRS 

with  success  and  its  causes ;  questions  concerning  delinquency  in  court 
or  truancy  in  school ;  methods  of  selecting  salesmen  for  a  great  corpora- 
tion or  telephone  girls  for  the  Telephone  Co.  In  fact,  itcould  be  extended 
so  as  to  include  any  and  every  relation  that  exists  or  may  ever  exist 
between  man  and  man.  All  of  these  subjects  may  be  discussed  and 
many  are  discussed  in  other  divisions  of  knowledge,  such  as  history, 
economics,  sociology,  anthroiK)logy,  psychiatry,  criminology,  advertis- 
ing, salesmanship,  education,  etc.,  but  all  belong  in  the  science  of 
psychology. 

Psychology  has  been  defined  as  the  science  of  behavior.  It  is  con- 
cerned with  the  orderly  presentation  of  the  facts  and  laws  which  un- 
derly  human  conduct.  It  not  only  includes  this  but  also  takes  in  the 
whole  realm  of  living  beings.  Today  psychologists  are  not  only  study- 
ing how  man  behaves  and  how  he  learns  but  also  how  rats,  and  guinea 
pigs,  and  monkeys,  and  birds,  and  even  earthworms,  behave  and  how 
they  learn.  This  work  with  animals  may  seem  foolish  but  it  has  al- 
ready led  to  a  better  understanding  of  many  phases  of  human  behavior 
and  undoubtedly  will  lead  to  very  much  more. 

Psychology  has  not  always  been  defined  in  this  way.  In  earlier  days 
it  was  defined  as  the  "science  of  the  soul"  or  the  "science  of  mind." 
Both  of  these  definitions  led  to  insurmountable  difficulties  and  have 
been  discarded.  A  third  definition,  i.  e.,  "psychology  is  the  science  of 
consciousness,"  ts  still  held  by  many  psychologists.  With  such  a  defi- 
nition one  is  led  to  emphasize  conscious  acts  and  more  particularly  the 
content  of  consciousness  to  the  exclusion  of  such  phenomena  as  are 
popularly  grouped  under  the  headings  of  behavior  and  conduct.  But  of 
late,  the  definition  upheld  in  this  book  has  been  adopted  by  more  and 
more  psychologists. 

And  they  are  deliberately  broadening  the  field  of  psychology  so  that 
it  shall  include  all  of  man's  activity  of  every  sort  and  kind.  At  the 
jjresent  time  it  is  quite  clear  that  those  who  uphold  the  definition  of 
psychology  as  the  science  of  consciousness  are  little  or  not  at  all  inter- 
ested in  applied  psychology,  while  those  who  have  espoused  the  defini- 
tion of  psychology  as  the  science  of  behavior  are  also  those  who  have 
been  most  active  in  the  application  of  psychology  to  advertising,  sale.s- 
manship,  vocational  guidance,  medical  and  legal  problems,  etc. 

Such  a  great  subject  as  man's  behavior  cannot  be  covered  in  a  few 
pages  or  in  a  few  weeks.  A  beginning  course  must  commence  at  some 
point  and  develop  it  in  a  systematic  manner.  This  means  that  only  cer- 
tain things  can  be  considered  here.  What  shall  those  things  be?  Pri- 
marily, we  shall  consider  how  man  learns.  This  will  lead  into  many 
related  phases   of  man's   conduct  and,  of  course,   if  quite  thorough 


LESSON    2  15 

would  sooner  or  later  touch  all  of  man's  behavior.  But  to  attempt  such 
a  complete  investigation  would  be  too  tremendous  an  undertaking.  We 
shall  have  to  be  content  with  a  general  survey  of  the  learning  process 
with  special  reference  to  learning  in  the  school.  We  shall  take  up  one 
example  after  another;  we  shall  actually  learn  things  in  order  to  have 
fresh  in  our  minds  just  how  it  feels  to  learn  ;  we  shall  compare  our 
progress  with  that  of  others  in  order  to  see  how  individuals  differ ; 
and  we  shall  compare  one  performance  with  another  in  order  to  draw 
up  general  principles  and  laws  which  will  explain  what  learning  is  and 
how  it  is  accomplished. 

LESSON  2— STUDY  OF  A  SIGHT-SPELUNG  LESSON 

At  the  next  class-hour  you  will  witness  a  "spelling"  lesson  in  the 
first  grade.* 

Here  little  children  are  learning  to  write  a  given  word  upon  the 
board.  The  emphasis  is  upon  writing  the  whole  word  and  not  upon  the 
letters  in  the  word.  And  as  the  emphasis  thruout  the  first  grade 
is  upon  whole  words,  some  teachers  maintain  that  spelling  is  not  taught 
until  the  second  or  third  grades.  We  will  not  quarrel  with  them.  We 
will  note,  however,  how  the  little  child  is  led  step  by  step  to  the  point 
where  he  can  write  a  word  on  the  board  after  seeing  his  teacher  do  it. 

The  Sight-Spelling  Lesson  is  employed  by  many  teachers  in  the  ele- 
mentary school  to  train  children  in  spelling.  It  consists  essentially  of 
showing  a  word  for  a  moment  and  then  requiring  the  child  to  reproduce 
the  word  in  writing.  It  is  one  of  the  methods  used  in  training  pupils  to 
read  words,  and  even  sentences,  before  they  know  their  letters. 

THK  RKL-'\TlONSniP  OF  A  "SIGHT-SPELLING"  LESSON  TO  LESSONS  IN 
READING  AND  WRITING. 

In  order  to  get  the  right  setting  for  the  understanding  of  a  sight- 
spelling  lesson  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back  and  get  clearly  in  mind 
just  what  a  teacher  has  attempted  to  accomplish  before  commencing  the 
teaching  of  spelling.  This  preliminary  work  as  given  in  a  typical 
school  can  be  roughly  divided  into  four  steps  : 

First.  The  children  relate  their  experience  in  class.  Day  after 
day  the  children  are  encouraged  and  led  to  talk  about  things  that 
interest  them. 

Second.  These  experiences  are  ivrittcn  on  the  hoard.  On  a  Monday 
about  three  weeks  after  the  opening  of  school,  the  children  are  asked 
for  example,  to  tell  their  experiences  since  last  Friday.     One  little  boy 


•    In    some    cities    this    method   of    teaching    is    not    employed.      In    such    cases    the    3rd 
class   hour   can   profitably   be   spent   in  a   discussion   of   this   lesson. 


l6  INTRODLCl'ORY   PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

niav  reply  as  follows,  his  sentences  being  written  on  the  hoard  as  he 
gives  them : — 

"1  went  to  the  country  on  Saturday. 

I  played  with  Fred. 

We  played  leapfrog. 

We  played  ball. 

We  had  a  happy  time." 

The  children  are  here  given  a  clear  conception  of  the  fact  that  what 
they  say  may  be  recorded  on  the  board — that  writing  has  something  to 
do  with  their  very  thoughts. 

Third.  Drill  is  covmienced  leading  to  "recognition"  of  the  sen- 
tences, phrases  and  words.  The  teacher  asks :  "Who  can  find  where 
it  tells, 'I  went  to  the  country  on  Satiu-day?'  Who  can  find  where  it 
tells,  *We  played  leapfrog?'  Where  does  it  say,  'We  played  ball?'  Where 
does  it  say,  'I  played  with  Fred?'",  etc.  At  first  these  sentences  are 
remembered  largely  because  of  their  position  on  the  board.  The  child 
remembers  the  order  in  which  the  sentences  occurred  and  makes  his 
guesses  accordingly.  Soon,  however,  the  recognitions  are  made  in  terms 
of  the  form  of  the  whole  sentence. 

Right  from  the  start  whole  sentences  or  phrases  or  words  are  thus 
drilled  upon.  Slowly  for  some  children,  more  quickly  for  others,  the 
forms  of  the  words  or  sentences  are  remembered  and  connected  with 
their  sound.  As  the  word  is  pronounced  by  the  teacher  and  then 
pointed  to  by  some  child,  the  teacher  rewrites  the  word  and  calls  their 
attention  to  the  fact  that  "This  (pointing  to  the  written  word)  always 
says  'ball'  ".  After  three  or  four  days  of  such  work  in  which  the  ques- 
tion has  been  all  the  time,  "where  is  this,"  the  children  are  ready  for  the 
fourth  step. 

Fourth.  Drill  is  given  leading  to  "recall"  of  the  sentences,  phrcLses 
and  words.  Here  the  characteristic  question  is,  "What  does  this  say  ?" 
The  child  here  must  verbally  reproduce  from  memory  the  words  and 
sentences  as  the  teacher  points  to  their  written  symbols.  Here  again, 
as  the  words  are  pointed  to  and  then  named  by  the  child,  the  teacher  fre- 
quently rewrites  the  word  (for  example,  "ball")  at  the  side  of  the  sen- 
tence and  says,  "This  always  says  ball." 

At  this  point  writing  may  be  introduced  to  the  child.  The  teacher 
choosing  some  particular  word,  asks  the  children  to  watch  her  write  it. 
The  children  watch  the  word  as  it  is  written  and  after  it  has  been 
erased  go  to  the  board  and  write  it  as  best  they  can. 

The  fourth  step  is  really  two  steps — one  deals  with  the  recall  of  the 
sound  of  the  word  when  it  is  seen  (reading)  ;  the  other  deals  with  the 
reproduction  of  the  form  of  the  word  after  it  is  seen  (writing).    The 


LESSON    2  17 

former  means  that  the  child  will  properly  move  the  muscles  of  his 
speech  organs  when  confronted  by  the  sight  of  the  word;  the  other 
that  he  will  properly  move  the  muscles  of  his  fingers  and  arm  when 
confronted  by  the  sound  of  the  word  or  after  having  seen  the  word. 

In  a  diagramatic  way  we  can  illustrate  these  two  processes  as 
follows : — 

Reading.     Seeing  word  "ball"  saying  the  word  '"ball." 

Writing.     Hearing  the  word  "ball"         writing  the  word  "ball." 

"  Seeing  word  "ball"  writing  word  "ball." 

The  method  of  developing  the  second  part  of  this  process  of  "re- 
call" is  called  "sight-spelling."    It  might  more  properly  be  called  "sight- 
writing,"  for  the  emphasis  in  the  drill  is  upon  a  reproduction  of  the 
f'^rm  of  a  word  previously  seen,  but  not  now  present  to  sight. 
TH1-:  SIGHT-SPlvLLIiVG  LESSOX  IN  DICTAIL. 

The  procedure  in  a  sight-spelling  lesson  is  as  follows :  The  teacher 
pronounces  the  word  "ball,"  then  writes  it  on  the  board  at  the  usual 
rate  of  writing,  then  pronounces  the  word  "ball"  again,  allows  the  chil- 
dren to  look  at  it  for  a  moment,  and  erases  it.  Then  she  tells  them  that 
she  is  going  to  call  upon  them  to  go  to  the  board  and  write  the  word 
there.  She  then  rewrites  the  word,  pronouncing  it  as  she  does  so,  and 
may  have  the  class  also  pronounce  it.  After  they  have  looked  at  it  for 
a  moment,  she  erases  it.  Then  one  or  more  children  are  sent  to  the 
board  to  write  the  word.  Some  of  the  children  may  get  it  correctly 
while  others  will  fail.  Those  who  have  failed  may  be  given  one  or  more 
chances  to  see  the  word  written  again  or  not  as  the  teacher  is  disposed. 
Then  another  word  is  presented  and  the  procedure  is  repeated.  (One 
of  the  most  important  elements  in  the  whole  process  is  the  matter  of 
having  the  child  watch  the  teacher  as  she  writes  the  word.  It  is  not 
enough  for  the  child  to  see  the  completed  word,  he  must  see  it  as  it  is 
ivritien.  Otherwise,  he  may  attempt  to  write  it  backwards  or  in  some 
other  way  than  the  correct  method.) 

As  this  drill  is  continued  each  child  learns  how  best  to  utilize  his 
time  while  the  word  is  exposed  on  the  board  so  as  to  be  able  to  write 
the  word  later.  These  methods  which  children  adopt  have  not  been 
worked  out  by  adults  as  yet.  When  they  are  understood  in  all  piobabil- 
ity  we  shall  be  able  to  help  the  child  develop  the  best  method  for  him. 
What  actually  takes  place,  no  matter  how  it  is  done,  is  that  the  child 
sees  the  word  written  on  the  board  and  then  after  it  is  erased  goes  to 
the  board  and  reproduces  the  form  of  the  word  as  he  has  previously 
seen  it.  (Of  course  it  is  not  meant  that  the  reproduction  is  anything 
but  an  approximation  at  first,  but  with  practice  there  results  a  fairly 
good  imitation  of  the  teacher's  form.) 


l8  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

SUMMARY 

The  above  paragraphs  liave  presented  ( i )  what  a  sight-spelling  les- 
son is,  (2)  the  relationship  between  a  sight-spelling  lesson  and  other 
lessons  in  the  first  grade  which  have  led  up  to  it  and  (3)  the  detailed 
elements  in  a  sight-spelling  lesson  We  now  have  a  general  idea  of  the 
relationship  of  spelling  to  conversation  (oral  expression),  reading 
and  writing. 

A  clear  understanding  of  these  points  will  aid  you  greatly  in  grasping 
and  appreciating  each  move  of  the  teacher  and  each  response  of  the 
children  when  yt)ii  witness  the  class  exercise. 

LESSON  3— BEHAVIOR  ANALYZED  INTO  ITS  TWO  COM- 
PONENTS, SITUATION  AND  RESPONSE 

At  this  stage  in  the  course  it  will  be  impossible  to  discuss  the  various 
steps  in  detail  relating  to  the  sight-spelling  lesson  or  to  work  out  the 
various  psychological  principles  involved  in  any  one  step.  To  do  so 
properly  would  necessitate  a  fairly  complete  knowledge  of  psychology — 
the  very  thing  we,  of  course,  do  not  have  at  our  disposal  just  now. 
Before  this  course  is  finished,  however,  we  shall  return  to  this  lesson- 
methocl  and  attempt  to  understand  the  psychological  principles  under- 
lying it. 

For  the  present  it  will  be  sufficient  to  get  clearly  in  mind  one  big- 
conception  which  the  following  three  questions  and  their  answers 
will  present. 

JJ'liat  is  the  object  of  the  lesson?  Evidently,  to  teach  the  children 
how  to  spell  the  words  presented.  Or  possibly  a  better  answer  is, — to 
arrange  matters  so  that  the  children  will  learn  the  spelling  of  certain 
words.  Consequently,  every  detail  in  the  whole  lesson  (every  act  or 
idea  of  teacher  or  child)  is  related  to  this  central  proposition  ''the 
child  learning."  (And  conversely,  if  there  is  any  detail  which  does  not 
actually  aid  the  child  to  learn,  it  is  out  of  place.) 

Hoiv  may  all  the  details  in  the  entire  lesson  he  divided  into  two 
(groups  as  they  relate  to  the  child's  I  earning  f  On  the  one  hand  the 
child  sees  and  hears  certain  things ;  that  is,  the  child  is  influenced  by 
certain  things  and,  on  the  the  other  hand,  the  child  does  certain  things. 
All  the  actions  of  the  teacher,  whether  spoken  words,  written  words,  or 
gestures — all  influence  the  child.  Likewise,  all  the  actions  of  other 
children  in  the  room  influence  the  child.  And  because  of  all  this  the 
child  makes  certain  responses.  Obviously  then  the  details  in  any  les- 
son fall  into  the  two  groups,  (i)  those  which  influence  the  child,  and 
(2)  those  which  constitute  the  child's  reaction. 


LESSON    3 


19 


Hcmj  may  ivc  dcsi innate  these  tzi'o  groiil^s  of  dctnils  which  make  up 
I  lie  spelling  lesson  i'  All  those  details  of  the  lesson  which  go  to  in- 
tluence  the  child,  all  combined  tos^ethcr.  we  may  call  the  Situation.  And 
all  those  details  which  constitute  what  the  child  docs,  we  may  call 
the  Response. 

To  illustrale  these  two  terms,  take  this  single  incident  in  a  spelling 
lesson.  Following  a  discussion  of  a  "leaf"  and  the  writing  of  sen- 
tences on  the  hoard  concerning  a  leaf  the  teacher  then  turns  to  the  mat- 
ter of  teaching  the  writing  of  the  single  word.  She  turns  and  writes 
the  word  "leaf"  on  the  board.  Pointing  to  the  word  on  the  board,  she 
announces.  "This  is  the  word  leaf."  Then  she  erases  the  word.  "Now 
I  am  going  to  write  the  word  'leaf  again  on  the  board.  I  want  you  to 
watch  carefully  and  see  how  I  do  it.  After  I  have  written  it  on  the 
board,  I  am  going  to  erase  it.  Then  I  am  going  to  ask  you  to  come  to 
the  board  and  write  it.  Now  look  carefully  and  get  a  good  picture  of 
'leaf'."  She  then  writes  the  word  on  the  board,  waits  a  moment,  and 
then  erases  it.  Then  she  calls  on  Carl  to  go  and  write  the  word  on  the 
board.  Carl  goes  to  the  board  and  writes  the  word  in  his  crude  style 
of  handwriting. 

The  Situation  and  the  Response,  as  relating  to  Carl,  are  made  up  as 
follows,  commencing  at  the  point  where  the  teacher  writes  the  word 
"leaf"  the  second  time: — 


SITUATION 

Carl  in  school. 

Presence  of  teacher  and  school- 
mates. 

Precedins;  evcnis  concerning  a 
•leaf." 

Teacher's  instructions  about  notic- 
ing the  word  on  the  board  and 
then  reproducing  it  after  she  had 
erased   her   writing. 


RESPONSE 
General   state  of   attention    (i)    to 
class,     (2)     to    teacher,    and    (3")     to 
specific  topic  under  discussion. 


:,  3,  and  4  above. 
Teacher   writes    tiie    word    "leaf" 
on  the  board. 
Teacher  erases  word. 
Teacher    calls    on    Carl    to    write 
word  on  board. 


T,  2.  3,  and  4  above. 
8.     Teacher  nods  her  approval  of  his 
performance. 


Carl  rises  from  seat,  (5^  walks 
to  board,  (6)  writes  word  "leaf" 
on  board,  and  (7)  returns  to  his 
seat. 


S.     Carl  feels  pleased. 


It  is  evident  that  the  Situation  comprises  all  the  details  which  in- 
fluence Carl  in  any  way,  while  it  is  also  evident  that  the  Response 


20  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

comprises  all  the  details  of  Carl's  behavior  in  responding  to  the  situa- 
tion. It  is  equally  evident  that  the  Situation  and  the  Response  are 
very  complicated,  being  made  up  of  many  details. 

The  first  point  to  get  in  this  course  is  that  the  learning  process  can 
be  and  must  be  resolved  into  the  two  factors  "Situation"  and  "Re- 
sponse." All  learning  is  the  doing  of  something  (Response)  because 
of  the  influence  exerted  by  certain  other  things  (Situation.) 

ASSIGNMENT  TO  BE    HANDED  IN   AT  THE  4TH    CLASS-HOUR. 

1.  Prepare  a  list  of  50  situations  in  daily  life  which  will  ordinarily 
produce  a  certain  response.    List  them  as  follows: 

SITUATION  RESPONSE 

1.  Stick  a  pin  into  some  one.  Person  jumps. 

2.  Sudden    noise.  Person  jumps. 

3.  Letters  "c-a-t"  sounded.  Person  thinks  "cat." 

4.  "2  plus  2"  seen.  Person  thinks  "4." 

5.  Man  meets  woman  he  knows  on  Man  raises  his  hat. 
the  street. 

Etc. 

2.  Be  prepared  to  discuss  what  you  saw  in  the  school  room  in  terms 
oi  situation  and  response. 


LESSON  4— BEHAVIOR  ANALYZED  INTO  ITS  COMPONENTS 
SITUATION  AND   RESPONSE    (Continued).* 

In  Lesson  3,  we  found  that  all  the  details  in  any  lesson  may  be 
divided  under  the  two  heads,  situation  and  response.  Just  to  strengthen 
our  grasp  on  this  fact  let  us  prove  it  in  another  case.  We  will  take 
the  metliod  of  teaching  reading  as  given  in  Lesson  2,  and  consider  not 
the  behavior  of  a  single  person  but  the  general  principles  underlying 
the  behavior  of  all  learners. 

Since  language  is  the  sine  qua  non  of  reading  we  may  say  that  the 
earliest  steps  in  such  learning"  are  taken  before  the  child's  first  birth- 
day. A  probable  situation  is  the  entrance  of  the  father  and  the  mother's 
statement,  "Here  comes  dadda."  If  the  baby  happens  to  make  a  noise 
immediately  thereupon,  which  approximates  in  any  way  the  word 
"dadda,"  it  will  be  greeted  with  wild  enthusiasm  by  the  parents,  which 
will  arouse  the  interest  and  pleasure  of  the  baby.  All  of  the  baby's 
accidental  successes  will  be  so  delightfully  welcomed ;  his  inopportune 
remarks  ignored.  After  many  such  occurrences,  the  presence  of  the 
father  and  the  sound  of  the  word  "dadda"  will  practically  always  cause 
the  baby  to  say  "dadda."  After  still  more  practice  the  sight  of  the 
father  will  in  itself  be  sufficient  to  cause  the  baby  to  call  him  by  name. 
For  the  situation  has  become  linked  to  its  appropriate  response  in  the 
baby's  mind. 

Many  words  are  learned  in  like  manner.  The  vocal  organs  are  in- 
creasingly practiced  by  crying,  cooing,  laughing  and  chance  expressions, 
until  the  child  has  gained  the  ability  to  make  all  the  sounds  in  the  lan- 
guage. After  this  the  vocabulary  grows  rapidly  as  names  can  be  re- 
peated after  one  or  two  hearings. 

In  all  cases  we  have  first  the  presence  of  the  object  and  the  sound  of 
the  name  calling  up  the  pronunciation  of  the  name.  After  this  is  ac- 
quired the  mere  presence  of  the  object  is  sufficient  to  induce  the  re- 
sponse of  the  word.  Later  the  physical  presence  of  the  object  is  unnec- 
essary.   The  ability  to  express  ideas,  desires,  etc.,  develops. 

Before  the  child  begins  to  read,  then,  it  has  already  learned  that 
spoken  words  stand  for  visible  objects.  He  has  now  to  learn  that  visible 
words  stand  for  spoken  words,  that  there  can  be  two  situations  leadini; 
to  the  same  response. 


The  object 

The  word  "f^ag" 


equals  spoken  "flag." 
equals  spoken  "flag." 


'CLASS-HOUR 

4 

5 


IN    CLASS 


Discuss    Lesson    3 
Experiment,   5 


WRITE  UP 


Lesson    5 


READ 


Le««on   4 


21 


22  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  I'OR  TEACHERS 

The  ability  to  pronounce  the  word  when  one  sees  it  in  written  form 
is  fundamentally  the  ability  to  read.  (Of  course,  the  reading  of  a 
well-trained  person  involves  much  more  than  pronouncing  one  word 
at  a  time  in  response  to  its  written  form.  Smooth  reading  with  ex- 
pression is  due  to  the  development  of  these  fundamental  processes  so 
that  they  operate  smoothly  and  automatically  together  with  the  devel- 
opment of  other  habits  dealing  with  expression  and  the  like.) 

What  the  teacher  must  do  then  is  to  form  a  connection  between  this 
situation  (the  word  "flag")  and  the  desired  response  (saying  '"flag"). 
This  is  what  she  does  in  the  method  outlined  in  Lesson  2.  i.  e., 

1.  Writes  sentences  on  board. 

2.  Asks  for  recognition. 

3.  Demands  recall. 

This  it  is  clear  on  a  little  consideration  is  the  wise  course  of  proce- 
dure. For  at  first  the  child  has  no  response  at  all  to  the  written  words, 
"We  have  a  big  flag."  The  white  chalk  marks  on  the  board  mean  noth- 
ing to  the  child.  They  mean,  indeed,  much  less  to  the  child  than 
Chinese  symbols  do  to  you,  the  reader,  for  the  child  does  not  even 
know  that  they  stand  for  spoken  words — for  objects  and  actions.  But 
the  teacher  writes  the  words,  "We  have  a  big  flag"  on  the  board  and 
pronounces  the  sentence  to  the  class.  Thus  a  weak  link  is  formed  be- 
tween the  sight  of  the  whole  sentence  and  its  sound. 

Then  the  child  is  asked  to  pick  the  sentence  out  from  others.  This  is 
not  so  difficult  as  recalling  it  would  l>e.  We  all  know  it  is  easier  to 
recognize  a  face  as  having  been  seen  before  than  to  give  the  name  be- 
longing to  the  face.  Even  a  faint  connection  between  situation  and 
response  will  lead  to  recognition. 

.A.nd,  of  course,  every  such  recognition  strengthens  the  connection. 
After  some  drill  the  teacher  can  successfully  ask  what  would  have  been 
useless  before,  that  is,  that  the  child  recall  what  a  given  sentence  says ; 
i.  e.,  respond  to  the  question,  "What  does  this  say?"  pointing  at  the 
same  time  to  the  written  sentence.  With  recall  the  last  step  is  reached 
and  only  more  drill  is  needed.    Then  the  child  can  read. 

Reading  is  then  at  bottom,  the  moving  of  the  muscles  of  the  throat  in 
response  to  certain  curlicues  on  a  page  or  blackboard.  The  proper 
control  of  these  muscles  is  learned  before  school  age.  The  joining  them 
up  with  the  new  situation,  the  curlicues,  is  the  task  of  the  teacher  of 
reading. 

The  object  of  a  school  lesson  seems  then  to  be  the  formation  of  a  con- 
nection between  a  given  situation  and  a  desired  response.  An  approved 
primary  method  is  so  constituted  that  it  leads  naturally  from  a  state  in 
which  -there  is  no  connection,  thru  a  stage  where  there  is  slight  con- 


LESSON   5  23 

nection,  and  finally  to  a  stage  where  a  fairly  strong  connection  is  estab- 
lished and  made  stronger  by  drill. 

SUMMARY 

Two  principal  points  have  been  made  in  the  course  so  far.  First,  you 
have  seen  what  psychology  is  and  what  psychologists  are  attempting 
to  do.  And  second,  you  have  been  shown  that  all  behavior  can  be  re- 
duced to  two  very  broad  conceptions  of  "situation"  and  "response." 

Hand  in  at  the  next  class-hour  the  best  definitions  you  can  prepare 
of  the  three  words,  "psychology,"  "situation"  and  "response." 

OBJECT  of  LESSONS  5  TO  20. 

With  the  foregoing  statement  before  us  of  what  a  school  lesson  is 
aimed  to  accomplish  we  are  now  ready  to  commence  an  analytical  study 
of  the  learning  process.  Very  simple  tasks  of  learning  will  be  assigned 
and  thru  careful  recording  of  notes  about  how  the  task  was  accom- 
plished many  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  learning  will  come  to 
light. 

The  next  class-hour  will  be  devoted  to  such  an  experiment.  Read 
over  the  instructions  in  Lesson  5  up  to  the  heading:  "Instructions  for 
writing  up  the  results."  But  do  not  practice  the  experi)nent.  If  you  do 
you  are  quite  likely  to  get  results  at  the  next  class-hour  which  will  be 
misleading. 

LESSON  5— HOW  DOES  ONE  LEARN  TO  SAY  THE 
ALPHABET? 

The  first  laboratory  assignment  in  a  new  course  of  study  must  neces- 
sarily be  very  simple,  else  the  beginning  student  will  be  swamped  with 
all  the  details  confronting  him.  Consequently,  we  shall  study  here 
what  is  apparently  a  simple  problem,  i.  e.,  the  processes  involved  in 
learning  the  alphabet — particularly  in  learning  to  say  it  backwards. 
But  altho  the  assignment  in  one  sense  is  very  simple,  yet  in  another 
sense  it  is  most  profound.  No  one  can  list  all  the  processes  that  are 
involved  here  nor  understand  any  of  them  absolutely. 

The  student  commencing  this  course  should  carry  with  him  much  ot 
the  spirit  of  the  early  pioneer.  He  is  embarking  on  a  cruise  of  explora- 
tion in  which  some  of  the  landmarks  are  known  and  chartered  for  him 
but  most  of  the  smaller  points  of  interest  are  not  charted  and  still  re- 
main to  be  discovered.  This  course  in  educational  psychology  will 
afiford  every  student  many  opportunities  for  discovering  facts  and  prin- 
ciples regarding  the  learning  process  not  now  recorded  in  any  textbook. 
Consequently  attack  this  seemingly  trivial  assignment  in  the  spirit  c\\ 
exploration  and  with  the  determination  to  discover  new  things. 


24  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOL,OGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

THE  EXPERIMENT 

1.  Problem.  What  happens  when  you  recite  (i)  the  alphabet  for- 
wards ten  times,  and  (2)  the  alphabet  backwards  ten  times? 

2.  Apparatus.  A  watch  with  a  second  hand.  (If  you  do  iwt  have 
such  a  watch,  obtain  one  from  the  instructor.) 

3.  Procedure.  Two  persons  will  work  together;  one  will  be  the 
subject  (person  to  do  the  reciting)  and  one  will  be  the  experimenter. 
When  both  are  ready  the  Experimenter  will  watch  the  second  hand  and 
when  it  reaches  58  on  the  dial  will  call  out,  "Get  ready,"  and  when  it 
reaches  60  will  say  ''Go."  Subject  will  then  recite  the  alphabet  as  fast 
as  possible.  When  the  Subject  reaches  the  letter  "Z"  the  Experimenter 
notes  the  number  of  seconds  that  have  elapsed  and  records  it  in  his  notes. 
The  Experimenter  will  find  it  necessary  to  have  before  him  the  alphabet 
written  out  so  that  as  the  Subject  recites  he  mav  follow  with  his  eye 
and  note  any  mistakes  in  the  Subject's  recitation. 

After  each  of  the  10  trials,  the  Experimenter  should  record  (a)  the 
time  required  by  the  Subject  to  recite  the  alphabet,  (b)  any  mistakes 
in  doing  so,  (c)  any  changes  in  method  he  may  note,  (d)  any  other 
interesting  facts. 

Having  finished  the  above,  repeat  the  whole  procedure  but  this  time 
recite  the  alphabet  backwards,  instead  of  forwards.  The  Experimenter 
should  write  out  the  alphabet  backwards  in  order  to  aid  him  in  catching 
the  mistakes  of  the  Subject.  The  Experimenter  will  not  prompt  the 
Subject  except  to  say,  "No,"  when  the  Subject  gives  a  wrong  letter. 

As  before,  the  Experimenter  will  record  (a)  the  time  required  by  the 
Subject  to  recite  the  alphabet  backwards,  (b)  any  mistakes  in  doing 
so,  (c)  any  changes  in  method,  (d)  any  other  interesting  facts. 
(Finish  the  above  before  reading  further.) 

INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  WRITING  UP  THE  EXPERIMENT. 

If  possible  both  partners  should  arrange  to  prepare  the  assignment 
together.  If  this  is  not  possible,  then  the  Subject  should  secure  a  copy 
of  the  Experimenter's  notes.  Both  should  prepare  this  assignment  and 
hand  it  in  at  the  next  class-hour. 

Ho7V  to  plot  a  learning  curve.  Refer  to  the  curves  shown  in  Plate  I, 
as  a  model.  In  those  curves  twenty  trials  are  shown,  whereas  yours 
will  record  but  ten  trials.  The  curves  of  no  two  person  are  alike,  con- 
sequently yours  will  not  agree  exactly  with  the  two  given  in  Lesson  i. 

Plot  the  data  you  have  secured  in  the  two  parts  of  the  experiment. 
Do  as  follows: — Secure  a  sheet  of  co-ordinate  paper.  Draw  a  line 
across  the  bottom  of  the  sheet  about  a  half  inch  from  the  bottom.  Draw 
another  line  at  right  angles  to  this  base  line  along  the  left-hand  side  of 
t!,c  >^cet,  about  a  half  inch  from  the  edge  of  the  paper.  At  intervals  of 


LESSON  5  25 

about  one-fourth  inch  number  consecutively  from  i  to  10  underncatli 
the  base  line.  Number  the  lines  along  the  vertical  line  consecutively 
from  I  up  as  far  as  the  paper  permits.  Call  the  base  line  "o." 
The  numbering  along  the  base  line  represents  the  successive  trials  from 
I  to  10.  The  numbering  along  the  vertical  axis  represents  the  amount  of 
time  consumed  in  reciting  the  alphabet.  Hence  at  the  right  of  the  figure 
10  write  the  word  ''Trials"  and  at  the  top  of  the  page  above  the  last 
number  in  the  vertical  scale,  write  the  word  "Seconds." 

When  this  is  done,  note  the  time-record  in  the  first  recitation  of  the 
alphabet.  Suppose  this  is  6  seconds.  Now  mark  a  small  "x"  at  the 
intersection  of  the  line  numbered  "6  seconds"  and  the  line  numbered 
"trial  I."  Suppose  the  second  trial  was  done  in  5  seconds.  Then  mark 
similarly  a  small  "x"  at  the  intersection  of  the  5-second  line  and  the 
2nd-trial  line.  (If  it  was  5I/2  seconds,  instead  of  5,  the  cross  would  be 
made  half-way  between  the  6-second  and  the  5-second  line.)  When  you 
have  marked  the  10  "xs,"  then  connect  them  together  with  straight 
lines.  This  jagged  line  represents  the  learning  curve  in  saying  the  al- 
phabet forwards.  Draw  the  learning  curve  for  saying  the  alpha- 
bet backwards  in  the  same  way. 

Give  a  title  to  the  sheet,  such  as  "Learning  Curves  for  Reciting  the 
Alphabet  Forwards  and  Backwards." 

How  to  strife  up  the  experiment. 

1.  The  problem.  State  what  is  the  problem  you  are  attempting  to 
solve.  In  this  case  the  problem  may  be  stated  as  "How  Does  One  Learn 
to  Say  the  Alphabet  ?" 

2.  Apparatus  :  State  under  this  heading  what  apparatus  you  used  in 
solving  the  problem,  as  "A  watch  with  a  second  hand." 

3.  Procedure.  State  what  you  did  in  order  to  secure  your  re- 
sults. Give  date  and  names  of  the  Experimenter  and  Subject,  first  of 
all.  In  this  course  you  need  not  copy  the  procedure  as  given  in  the  text 
but  may  state,  "Followed  instructions  as  given  in  manual,  except 
."  Then  give  in  detail  any  deviations. 

4.  Results.  Here  record  (i)  your  time  records.  (2)  mistakes  made. 
(3)  changes  in  method,  (4)  other  interesting  facts,  (5)  your  curves. 
In  other  words,  record  under  this  heading  the  material  you  have  gath- 
ered together  in  performing  the  experiment. 

5.  Interpretation.  Here  ordinarily  you  would  summarize  your 
results  and  explain  what  they  mean.  At  the  beginning  of  this  course 
you  will  be  aided  in  interpretating  your  results  by  being  given  specific 
questions  to  answer — questions  which  help  you  summarize  and  explain 
your  results.  In  this  case,  answer  the  following  questions : 

a.     How  do  your  two  learning  curves  diflFer?  Explain  why. 


26  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

b.  In  what  respects  do  the  two  curves  agree?    Explain. 

c.  Why  is  it  possible  to  recite  the  alphabet  faster  and  with  fewer 
mistakes  on  the  tenth  trial  than  on  the  first  trial?  Has  the  Situation 
changed?  Has  the  Response  changed?  Has  there  been  any  other 
change  which  you  cannot  include  under  the  headings  "Situation"  and 
"Response"? 

d.  Why  do  you  suppose  in  Lesson  3,  Carl  could  write  the  word 
"leaf"  on  the  board  after  having  seen  his  teacher  write  it  and  not  be- 
fore? What  changed  there — the  situation,  the  response,  or  some  other 
third  thing  ? 

6.  Applications.  Record  concrete  cases  where  principles  developed 
here  will  apply  in  other  phases  of  life.  For  example,  in  learning  to  use 
a  saw,  one  will  saw  thru  a  6-inch  plank  very  slowly  the  first  time  and 
will  do  a  pretty  poor  job.  Next  time  the  job  will  be  done  in  less  time 
and  with  fewer  ragged  edges.  Successive  trials  will  result  in  better 
and  better  work.  The  greatest  progress  will  be  made  in  the  early 
trials. 

In  this  lesson  you  have  probably  been  confronted  with  several  new 
things,  as  follows: 

1.  Saying  the  alphabet  backwards. 

2.  A  learning  curve  and  its  characteristics. 

3.  Plotting  a  curve. 

4.  Writing  up  the  laboratory  experiment  according  to  a  prescribed 
outline. 

It  will  require  a  number  of  further  lessons  before  the  last  three  of 
these  propositions  will  become  thoroughly  established.  Apply  what 
you  have  learned  in  this  experiment  to  yourself.  Do  not  expect 
to  write  up  this  experiment  in  one-half  the  time  you  will  be  able  to 
do  it  in  a  month  from  now,  nor  to  do  it  without  many  mistakes — mis- 
takes you  will  not  make  a  month  from  now.  Do  the  best  you  can  in  the 
time  you  have  for  preparing  the  lesson. 


LESSON   6 — SOME   FACTS   CONCERNING   THE   LEARNING 

PROCESS  AS  OBTAINED  FROM  THE  ALPHABET 

EXPERIMENT^ 

All  learning  is  dependent  upon  practice,  upon  performing  what  is  to 
be  learned.  That  is  the  way  you  originally  learned  to  say  the  alpha- 
bet forwards  and  that  is  the  only  way  you  can  learn  to  say  it  back- 
wards. 

In  like  maimer  you  must  yourself  work  out  the  assignments  of  the 
course.  And  to  the  extent  that  you  do  actuall}'  answer  the  questions, 
to  just  that  extent  you  have  a  real  grasp  of  the  contents  of  the  course. 

In  order  to  afford  you  a  check  upon  your  work  so  that  you  may 
know  how  well  you  are  doing  it,  the  even  numbered  lessons  (e.  g.,  les- 
sons 6,  8,  lo,  etc.)  will  answer  the  problems  raised  in  the  odd-num- 
bered lessons  (e.  g.,  lessons  5,  7,  9,  etc.).  These  answers  are  not  com- 
plete answers;  no  one  knows  enough  today  to  answer  absolutely  com- 
pletely. But  they  will  furnish  sufficiently  complete  answers  for  the 
]nirpose  of  the  course. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  you  will  secure  little  from  the  course  if 
you   obtain   access   to   the   even-numbered   lessons   before   handing   in 
your  written  reports  upon  the  corresponding  odd-numbered  lessons. 
.ANSWERS  TO  QUESTIONS  IN  LESSON  5. 

//om;  do  your  tzco  learning  curves  differ?    Explain  why. 

1.  The  "saying  alphabet  forwards"  curve  drops  very  little,  whereas 
the  other  curve  drops  a  great  deal.  That  is,  there  is  very  little  im- 
provement in  the  first  case  and  a  great  deal  in  the  second. 

2.  The  curve  in  the  first  case  is  practically  a  straight  line  (disre- 
garding now  the  irregular  fluctuations)  while  the  curve  in  the  second 
case  shows  a  very  great  drop  at  first  with  less  and  less  of  a  drop  as  the 
trials  continue. 

3.  The  second  curve  is  thruout  "higher"  than  the  first  curve. 
Explanation.     The  learning  curve  of  a  performance  that  has  not 

been  practised,  always  shows  a  big  drop  after  each  trial,  but  as  the 
trials  continue,  the  curve  drops  less  and  less  until  it  finally  reaches  a 
certain  limit.  In  the  case  of  saying  the  alphabet  forwards  we  must 
realize  that  the  early  trials  (with  their  resulting  big  drops)  have  oc- 


•CLAaS-HOUR 

IN  CLASS 

WRITE-UP 

READ 

6 
7 

Discuss,  5 
Experiment,   7 

Lesson    7 

Lesson    6 

V 


28  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

curred  long  ago.  We  arc  dealing  possibly  with  trials  looi  to  loio 
and  can  expect  only  very  sli.^ht  improvement  from  trial  t<j  trial.  In 
fact  we  must  be  fairly  near  the  limit  of  speed  that  can  be  obtained  in 
this  performance. 

JL  The  chief  difference  between  the  two  curves  is  to  be  explained  by  the 
fact  that  the  first  curve  is  the  only  portion  we  have  of  a  learning  curve 
made  up  of,  say,  a  thousand  and  ten  repetitions,  whereas  the  second 
curve  is  actually  representative  of  the  beginning  of  a  learning  process. 
The  first  curve  must  needs  be  nearly  a  straight  line  with  only  a  slight 
drop,  while  the  second  curve  must  needs  show  large  drops  between 
each  successive  trial,  but  smaller  and  smaller  drops  as  the  repetitions 
continue.  If  we  kept  up  the  reciting  of  the  alphabet  backwards  lo 
times  a  day  for  a  month  or  more  possibly  we  would  then  get  a  curve  on 
the  last  day  that  would  be  similar  to  our  first  curve. 

J  From  the  shape  of  the  curve  we  can  then  tell  something  as  to  the 
amount  of  training  which  has  already  preceded  the  first  trial  shown 
in  the  curve. 

In  what  respects  do  the  tzvo  curves  agree f    Explain. 

1.  Both  drop.  Both  show  improvement  in  the  work  done. 
Explanation.     A  fundamental  law  of  human  behavior  is  the  only 

explanation  that  can  be  given  for  the  fact  that  both  curves  drop.  Con- 
tinued  repetition  of  a  performance  results  in  that  performance  be- 
\  coming  easier  and  easier  and  when  there  is  any  effort  made  to  decrease 
the  time  of  doing  it,  the  performance  is  done  in  less  and  less  time. 

2.  Both  sliow  fluctuations.  Improvement  is  not  always  shown  be- 
tween successive  trials.  Sometimes  the  performance  is  much  inferior 
to  that  of  several  preceding  trials. 

Explanation.  The  performance  of  any  act  is  made  up  of  many  parts. 
Learning  the  whole  performance  (e.  g.,  saying  the  alphabet  back- 
wards) consists  in  learning  to  do  each  little  part  and  in  learning  to 
do  them  in  the  correct  order.  Sometimes  the  parts  are  all  fairly  well 
done — then  we  make  a  better  record  than  usual, — there  is  a  sudden 
drop  in  the  curve.  Sometimes  the  parts  are  done  poorly — then  we  make 
a  poorer  record  than  usual — there  is  an  upward  shoot  to  the  curve. 
Most  of  the  time  we  do  some  parts  well  and  some  poorly — then  we 
make  an  average  record. 

The  causes  as  to  why  any  part  is  done  poorly  or  well  will  be  taken 
up  later.  (Commence  watchinc^  for  them.  Note  why  you  fumble  in 
tying  your  shoes,  putting  on  your  hat,  shaving,  spreading  butter  on  a 
slice  of  bread,  misspelling  a  word,  answering  a  question  incorrectly  in 
an  examination,  etc.) 


LESSON    O  29 

In  what  respects  do  the  situations  and  responses  differ  at  the  be- 
ginning and  end  of  the  t-wo  experiments?  Explain  why.  (This  ques- 
tion is  inserted  in  addition  to  those  asked  in  Lesson  5.) 

As  to  situation. 

1.  Certain  details  were  added  to  the  situation.  Certain  details  af- 
fected the  Subject  more  and  more,  e.  g., 

a.  Certain  combinations  of  letters  are  difficult  (e.  g.,  w.  v.  u.  t.) 
and  so  are  watched  with  more  than  ordinary  care. 

b.  Letters  said  at  first  more  or  less  one  at  a  time,  later  become 
grouped, — groups  thus  take  the  place  of  single  letters  as  the 
items  which  aflfect  the  subject  . 

c.  "Idea  you  must  go  fast,"  "Idea  you  must  not  make  mis- 
takes," etc. 

2.  Certain  details  were  eliminated  more  or  less  from  the  situation, 

e     cr   

a.  Strangeness  of  surroundings  ceased  to  affect  the  Subject. 

b.  Strangeness  of  requirement, — to  recite  alphabet  in  psycholog}' 
class, — was  forgotten. 

c.  Presence  of  other  individuals,  their  conversation,  etc.  became 
less  noticeable. 

d.  Presence  of  the  Experimentor,  the  fact  that  he  was  watching, 
the  fact  that  he  was  taking  notes,  the  fact  that  he  was  timing, 
etc.,  had  less  eflFect. 

3.  In  other  words,  as  learning  progressed,  the  situation  actually 
changed.  Certain  details  affected  the  Subject  more  and  more  and  cer- 
tain other  details  less  and  less. 

As  to  Response. 

1.  Actual  performance  was  done  (a)  more  quickly,  (b)  with  fewer 
mistakes,  (c)  more  smoothly. 

2.  Feelings  of  strangeness,  un familiarity,  nervousness,  excitement, 
unpleasantness,  etc.,  became  changed  more  or  less  to  feelings  of  famil- 
iarity, confidence  and  pleasantness,  etc, 

3.  Actual  method  of  doing  work  was  changed,  particularly  in  say- 
ing alphabet  backwards,  e.  g. — 

a.  At  first  alphabet  had  to  be  recited  forwards  in  order  to  say  it 
backwards ;  later  this  became  unnecessary. 

b.  It  was  recited  in  short  pieces  with  pauses  in  between. 

c.  Pauses  became  shorter,  groupings  of  letters  longer  and  longer. 

d.  Etc. 

The  process  of  learning  involves  then  not  simply  doing  work  faster 
and  faster  with  fewer  and  fewer  mistakes,  but  also  attention  to  dilTer- 
ent  details  in  the  situation  coupled  with  qualitative  changes  in  method. 


30  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOI,OGY  FOR  TKACHERS 

Why  is  it  possible  to  recite  the  alphabet  faster  and  with  fewer  mis- 
takes on  the  tenth  trial  than  on  the  first  trial'/'  Has  the  situation 
changed f  Has  the  response  changed F  Has  there  been  any  other 
change ? 

The  first  part  of  this  question  has  been  answered  under  the  second 
question,  above. 

Has  the  situation  changed?  In  one  sense,  No.  There  are  the  same 
factors  outside  the  learner  at  the  tenth  trial  that  were  there  at  the  first 
trial.  But  in  another  sense,  Yes.  In  some  way  or  other  the  learner 
has  changed,  so  that  he  is  influenced  less  by  certain  of  the  outside  fac- 
tors and  more  by  other  outside  factors.  Actually  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  learner,  then,  the  situation  has  changed,  he  is  affected  by  details  in 
a  different  way  from  what  he  was  at  the  start. 

Has  the  response  changed?  Undoubtedly.  This  is  shown  by  the  de- 
crease in  time  and  the  increase  in  accuracy,  also  by  the  change  in  atti- 
tude toward  the  task. 

What  other  changes  have  there  been?  We  shall  come  to  see  that  the 
mechanism  within  the  learner  that  is  affected  by  outside  factors  and 
that  controls  the  learner's  muscles  (for  all  behavior  is  com[>osed  of 
muscular  movements)  has  been  changed.  This  mechanism  is  the 
nervous  system  of  the  learner.  It  if^s  in  some  way  or  other  been 
changed  by  the  repetition  of  the  alphabet. 

We  may  think  of  this  nervous  mechanism  as  having  been  changed, 
on  the  one  hand,  so  that  now  in  this  particular  situation  it  is  more 
susceptible  to  certain  details  and  less  susceptible  to  other  details,  and  on 
the  other  hand,  that  it  controls  and  directs  the  muscles  engaged  in  speak- 
ing differently  from  what  it  did  at  the  start.  The  learner  is  certainly 
more  susceptible  to  the  difificulties  of  reciting  "w,v,u,t,"  than  at  the  start. 
He  is  also  less  concerned  with  the  presence  of  his  partner  than  at  the 
start,  and  undoubtedly  does  recite  the  alphabet  backwards  in  a  much 
better  manner  than  at  the  start.  His  behavior  is  different.  His  re- 
sponse to  the  situation  is  different. 

It  is  clear  from  what  has  gone  before  that  we  shall  need  to  add  to  our 
conceptions,  "situation"  and  "response"  a  third  conception — a  concep- 
tion to  cover  the  linkage  of  the  situation  to  the  response.  The  situation 
comprises  those  details  that  affect  or  stimulate  the  learner's  sense-or- 
gans (eye,  ear,  skin,  etc.)  and  the  response  comprises  those  movements 
that  make  up  the  total  behavior  which  results  from  the  situatioa.  Con- 
necting the  stimulated  sense-organ  with  the  moving  muscles  are  nerve- 
cells  and  nerve-fibres.  For  the  present  let  us  speak  of  this  nervous 
connection  as  the  "bond"  or  "connection."  We  may  then  look  upon  the 
learning  of  the  alphabet  as  comprising  a  certain  situation,  a  certain  re- 


i,h:sson  6  31 

sponse  and  a  bond  between  the  two.  At  the  start  this  bond  is  very  im- 
perfectly developed.  As  repetition  continues,  the  bond  is  developed 
until  finally  the  situation  (Experimentor  says,  "recite  the  alphabet 
backwards")  is  adequately  bound  to  the  various  muscular  movements 
which  cause  the  letters  of  the  alphabet  to  be  sounded. 

Let  us  look  upon  the  multiplication  table  in  this  same  way.  The 
teacher  asks,  "What  is  6  times  8?"  The  child  responds  "48."  The  sit- 
uation, in  terms  of  the  child,  is  (i)  the  teacher,  (2)  the  sounds  making 
up  "What  is  6  times  8  ?"  Certain  muscles  in  the  throat  and  mouth  move 
and  the  child  has  said  "48."  Connecting  the  ear  and  the  throat  muscles 
are  various  nerve-centers  and  nerve-fibres.  The  stimulation  in  the  ear 
has  been  communicated  in  a  wonderful  way  over  these  nerve-pathways 
to  the  muscles  in  the  throat  and  they  have  been  moved — and  "48"  was 
said.  The  terms,  "Situation,"  "Bond,"  and  "Response,"  may  be  thought 
of  now  as  covering  this  whole  learned  performance. 

IVhy  do  you  suppose  Carl  in  Lesson  3  could  ivrite  the  word  "leaf  on 
the  hoard  after  seeing  his  teacher  Tvrite  it  and  not  before?  What 
changed  there — the  situation,  the  response  or  sonte  other  third  thing f 

If  Carl  has  learned  to  write  the  word  without  knowing  his  letters, 
then  the  sight  of  the  word  and  sound  of  the  word  have  both  become 
bound  up  with  the  movements  of  making  the  word.  While  Carl  looked 
at  the  word  and  while  he  listened  to  the  sound  of  the  word,  he  wrote 
the  word  in  the  air,  i.  e.,  made  the  movements  necessary  to  write  the 
word.    Diagrammatically,  we  have 

Sight  of  word     >     Movements  involved  in   writing  word. 

Sound  of  word >     Movements   involved   in    writing   word. 

Thru  previous  training  in  school  and  outside  Carl  had  learned  how  to 
trace  a  drawing.  Hence  when  he  saw  the  word  he  was  able  to  trace  the 
word  in  the  air.  After  a  sufficient  number  of  repetitions  the  bond  con- 
necting this  situation  with  this  response  becomes  strong  enough  to 
function.  But  the  possession  of  a  bond  between  seeing  the  word  "leaf" 
and  writing  it  is  not  enough,  else  Carl  could  not  write  the  word  when 
his  teacher  pronounces  it.  While  Carl  was  looking  at  the  word  he  was 
also  muttering  it  to  himself.  The  teacher  was  also  pronouncing  it. 
Hearing  the  word  then  was  part  of  the  situation.  And  while  hearing 
it  he  was  also  writing  it  in  the  air.  Repetition  of  this  detail  of  the  sit- 
uation and  the  response  shortly  results  in  a  bond  being  formed  between 
hearing  the  word  and  writing  it. 

To  answer  the  question,  we  must  reply  that  a  bond  was  formed  be- 
tween sight  of  the  word  "leaf"  and  the  movements  necessary  to  write 
it,  also  a  bond  between  hearing  the  word  and  writing  it.  There  lias 
Tieen  a  development  of  new  bonds  and  consequently  a  new  response. 


32  INTRODUCTOKY  I'SYCHOLOGY  FOR  TIvACHKRS 

Before  there  was  no  bond  and  hence  no  writing  response  to  tke  word 
"leaf."  Afterwards  there  is  a  bond  and  so  an  appropriate  response  is 
possible. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  above  analysis  is  not  so  full  as  it 
should  be.  And  it  should  further  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  analysis 
may  be  true  of  some  children  and  not  true  of  others.  We  do  not  know 
today  just  how  all  children  come  to  do  these  things.  Future  details 
will  be  added  as  this  course  develops. 

SUMMARY  OP  POINTS  COVERED  SO  PAR  IN  THIS  COURSE 

1.  Demonstration  of  slight  sijelling  k-^scn. 

2.  Understanding  of  the  terms,  "Situation,"  "Bond,"  and 
"Response." 

3.  Realization  that  a  situation  is  a  complex  affair  made  up  of  many 
details  and  a  response  is  correspondingly  complex. 

4.  Method  of  plotting  a  learning  curve. 

5.  The  fact  that  repetition  of  the  same  performance  produces 
changes  in  the  real  situation,  in  the  response,  and  in  the  bonds  connect- 
ing situation  with  response. 

6.  Some  characteristics  of  learning  curves. 

7.  A  method  of  writing  up  a  laboratory  exercise,  involving  tbe  class- 
ification of  your  material  under  six  headings : — 

a.  The  Problem,  what  you  are  trying  to  do. 

b.  The  Apparatus,  what  you  have  to  work  with. 

c.  The  Procedure,  how  you  go  at  solving  the  problem. 

d.  The  Results,  what  information  you  discover. 

e.  The  Interpretation,  what  you  decide  the  results  mean. 

f.  The  Application,  how  the  general  principles  outlined  under 
"Interpretation"  can  be  applied  to  other  problems. 

LESSON  7— HOW  DOES  ONE  IMPROVE  AS  ONE  LEARISK  TO 
DRAW  IN  THE  MIRROR-DRAWING  APPARATUS? 

In  Lessons  5  and  6  we  obtained  some  idea  of  the  process  by  which 
one  learns  an  alphabet.  The  same  general  principles  will  apply  more 
or  less  to  the  learning  of  lists  of  things,  such  as  conjugations,  declen- 
sions, etc. 

Today  we  are  interested  in  discovering  the  general  characteristics  of 
the  learning  process  in  such  cases  as  learning  to  write  with  a  pen, to  ride 
a  bicycle,  to  skate,  to  use  a  saw,  etc.  As  adults  are  all  able  to  write 
it  is  manifestly  impossible  to  study  with  adult  subjects  the  learning 
processes  involved  in  handwriting.  For  that  reason  the  experinfte«t  will 
be  devoted  to  learning  to  draw  while  looking  in  a  mirror.    This  process 


LESSON    7 


33 


involves  many  factors  which  are  common  to  learning  handwriting.  En- 
deavor as  best  you  can  to  understand  this  learning  process  as  it  will  help 
you  to  understand  what  a  child  experiences  while  learning. 

As  before,  one  partner  will  act  as  Experimenter  (E)  and  the  other  as 
Subject  (S).  Here  the  emphasis  will  be  upon  completing  the  drawing 
of  17  stars  in  the  mirror-drawing  apparatus.  This  can  only  be  done  by 
prompt  and  efficient  eflfort. 

THE    MIRROR-DRAWING    EXPERIMENT. 

Problem:  Hozo  docs  one  improve  as  one  learns  to  draw  in  the  Mir- 
ror-D raiving  apparatus ? 

Apparatus:  Mirror-Drawing  Outfit;  17  six-pointed  star  blanks^ 
watch,. 

Procedure: 

(i.)  The  Experimentor  determines  how  long  it  takes  the  Subject 
to  trace  the  outline  of  the  star,  zvithout  using  the  mirror.  Let  him.  start 
at  the  point  marked  in  the  star  and  draw  naturally  around  within  the 
two  lines. 

(2.)  Experimentor  arranges  the  apparatus  so  that  Subject  can 
not  see  his  own  hand  directly,  but  only  thru  the  mirror.  Subject  i>^  to 
trace  the  outline  of  the  star  as  quickly  as  possible  with  a  lead  pencil. 


Plate  11.   Star  blank  for  mirror-drawing  experimeat. 
(Actual  size  4  1/4  x  5  inohas.) 


34  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

The  requirement  is  that  the  pencil  must  stay  on  the  paper,  and  must 
pass  in  order  around  the  star.  Measure  the  time  required  to  pass 
around  the  star.  Then  record  the  number  of  times  the  pencil  line 
touches  either  of  the  two  printed  lines.  Each  one  should  be  counted  a 
mistake.  Furthermore,  when  the  pencil  is  outside  of  the  two  printed 
lines,  each  chans^e  in  direction  should  also  be  counted  as  one  mistake. 

The  star  should  be  so  placed  that  the  starting  point  is  towards  S  as 
he  sees  it  in  the  mirror.  If  now  each  point  is  numbered  from  i  to  12 
(12  being  at  the  starting  and  ending  point  and  i  at  the  point  to  S's 
right  as  he  sees  it  in  the  mirror),  it  will  be  found  to  make  the  matter 
of  writing  up  the  laboratory  notes  much  easier,  for  all  places  on  the 
star  can  thus  be  easily  referred  to. 

Be  sure  to  write  on  each  star-blank  the  number  of  the  trial  and  the 
-name  of  the  Subject,  also  the  time  consumed  in  doing  the  drawing. 
Otherwise  a  gust  of  wind  may  mix  up  your  papers  and  ruin  your 
•experiment. 

(3.)  Have  S  trace  14  more  stars  in  the  mirror-drawing  apparatus, 
making  a  total  of  15  in  all.    Obtain  the  time  for  each  trial. 

(4.)  Have  S  trace  another  star  as  he  did  in  (i)  without  the  use 
of  the  mirror. 

This  provides  for  the  use  of  17  star  blanks;  2  are  used  without  the 
mirror  and  15  with  the  mirror. 

Results:  E  should  have  recorded  then,  (i)  the  time  of  each  per- 
formance, and  (2)  the  number  of  false  moves  to  be  observed  by  count- 
ing the  number  of  times  the  lead  pencil  touches  or  crosses  a  printed 
line,  and  the  changes  in  direction  when  without  the  printed  line. 

The  learning  curves.  Plot  both  the  time-records  and  the  accuracy- 
records.  Provide  on  the  base  line  space  for  17  trials;  on  the  vertical 
axis  space  for  recording  up  to  300  seconds.  (You  can  do  this  by  let- 
ting each  horizontal  line  represent  5  or  10  seconds.)  Remember  trials 
I  and  17  were  made  without  the  mirror;  trials  2  to  16,  with  the  mirror. 
Do  not  connect  trials  i  with  2  or  16  with  17.  Connect  trials  2  with  3 
with  4.  etc.,  up  to  16,  using  a  solid  line;  and  trial  i  with  17  using  a 
dotted  line. 

Next  plot  the  accuracy-records.  For  the  sake  of  convenience  con- 
sider each  error  equivalent  to  a  second  in  time  and  plot  accordingly. 
Finally  plot  a  third  curve  obtained  by  adding  together  the  seconds  taken 
to  do  the  trials  with  the  number  of  errors.  This  curve  will  represent 
the  course  of  learning,  taking  into  account  both  time  and  accuracy 
combined. 

Roth  partners  will  write  up  the  report  according  to  the  outline  given 
in  Lesson  5.     The  Results  will  include  the  material  (data)  gathered 


LiissoN  7  35 

together  cluing  the  experiment  and  also  the  three  learning  curves.  Un- 
der the  heading  "Inlerprctation'  note  answers  to  the  foUowing 
questions : 

1.  What  changes  take  place  when  the  same  performance  is  re- 
peated a  number  of  times?  Consider  (a)  speed,  (b)  accuracy,  and  (c) 
the  two  combined. 

2.  What  light  do  the  data,  secured  when  the  mirror  is  not  used, 
throw  upon  the  main  results  of  this  experiment?  In  other  words,  how 
efficiently  do  you  suppose  the  Subject  could  come  to  do  the  mirror- 
drawing  after  a  great  deal  of  practice? 

Do  not  fail  to  report  under  the  heading  "Applications"  some  con- 
crete examples  of  how  the  principles  discovered  in  the  experiment,  can 
be  applied  to  your  own  work. 

NOTES:    (I)       The    word    "data"    is    plural    always. 

(2)  As  you  are  studying  the  learning  process  it  is  absolutely  esdential  that 
S  shall  not  practice  in  any  way  whatever  between  trials,  else  your  data  will  not  bt 
complete.  If  a  trial  is  performed  and  the  time-record  is  lost,  report  this  fact.  For 
example,  if  the  time- record  for  the  12th  trial  was  lost,  call  it  nevertheles*  the  12th 
trial,  and  the  next  trial  the  1 3th.  In  plotting,  simply  connect  the  I  1th  and  t3th  records 
with  a  dotted   line,    to   indicate   that   the    12th    record   is   missing. 


LESSON  8— GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  LEARN- 
ING PROCESS.* 

ANSWERS  TO  THE  QUESTIONS  IN  LESSON  7. 

IVhat  changes  take  place  zuhen  the  same  performance  is  repeated  a 
number  of  timesf  Consider  (a)  speed,  (b)  accuracy,  and  (c)  the  tzvo 
combined. 

The  first  drawing  with  the  right  hand  in  the  mirror"  was  done  very 
slowly  and  with  many  mistakes.  The  second  drawing  was  very  much 
better,  there  being  a  noticeable  decrease  both  in  the  time  consumed  and 
the  number  of  mistakes  made.  With  each  subsequent  trial  there  was 
improvement  (barring  certain  exceptions)  until  with  the  last  trial  we 
have  a  drawing  made  in  very  much  less  time  and  with  few  errors.  In 
Plate  III  we  have  three  learning  curves  showing  20  trials  (not  15)  and 
based  on  the  average  of  18  records  from  men  and  women.  Both 
curves  A  (accuracy)  and  B  (speed)  show  rapid  improvement  at  the 
start  with  smaller  and  smaller  gains  as  the  practice  continues.  The  com- 
bined curve  (C)  shows  the  same  peculiarities. 

From  studying  curves  B  and  C  it  is  apparent  that  if  these  18  indi- 
viduals had  continued  the  practice  for  more  than  20  trials  they  would 
have  improved  still  more.  Curve  A,  on  the  other  hand,  suggests  that 
they  had  reached  their  limit  in  accuracy ;  in  fact,  that  they  had  reached 
this  limit  by  about  the  8th  trial.  (Trials  12  and  18  being  actually  the 
most  accurate.)  There  is,  however,  another  possible  explanation.  The 
instruction  given  the  individuals  whose  average  data  we  have  before 
us,  was  purposely  left  indefinite  as  to  whether  speed  or  accuracy  should 
be  striven  for.  Their  reports  show,  however,  that  most  of  them  had  in 
mind  doing  the  task  as  quickly  as  possible,  having  in  mind  a  fair  de- 
gree of  accuracy,  rather  than  doing  the  task  as  accurately  as  pos- 
sible with  a  fair  degree  of  speed.  Consequently,  the  time  curve  shows 
the  greater  amount  of  improvement.  It  is  extremely  likely  then  that 
the  accuracy  shown  in  Curve  A  from  the  8th  to  20th  trials  represents 
to  these  individuals  "a  fair  degree  of  accuracy," — that  during  those 
trials  there  was  little  or  no  attempt  to  improve  their  accuracy.  If  this 
be  true,  further  practice  would  eventually  bring  each  subject  to  a  point 


•CLASS-HOUR 

IN  CLASS 

WRITE-UP 

READ 

8 

Discuss,  7 

LessoB    8 

9 

Review,     1-8 

Lessons    1-9 

10 

Examination 

Lesson     1 1 

II 

Experiment,  1 1 

Lesson     1  1 

37 


38 


INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   l^OR  TEACHERS 


where  he  woukl  reahze  that  his  accuracy-record  was  not  so  good  as  it 
might  be  as  compared  with  his  time-record.  His  general  attitude  toward 
the  work  would  change  then  so  that  he  would  strive  for  accuracy  in  a 
way  that  he  had  not  done  previously.  Following  this  change  in  attitude 
there  would  undoubtedly  appear  a  series  of  drops  in  the  accuracy-curve 
with  possibly  little  or  no  improvement  in  the  time-curve.  Judging  then 
from  what  we  can  learn  from  the  observations  of  our  subjects,  they 
have  not  reached  their  limit  of  improvement  in  accuracy,  but  rather 
only  a  temporary  limit,  this  temporary  limit  being  due  to  their  attitude 
toward  the  work. 


Erctri  (4),  icx0t4i  ^B),  7t<  t»»  tJJtH  (c). 


i60 


Iht 


IM 


SO 


*  c 


Plate  III>  Curves  showing  progress 
ot  learning  to  draw  while  looking 
in  a  mirror. 

Curre  A  records  errors  made  per 
trial.  Curve  B  recorde  tine  (in 
Bsoonda)  oonsniiied  per  trial. 
Curve  0  raoords  total  errors  and 
seoonds  per  trial. 


S  10 


LtssoN  8  39 

Such  temporary  limits  are  called  plateaus  or  level  places  in  a  learn- 
ing curve.  In  terms  of  what  little  we  now  know  from  this  course  about 
plateaus,  we  may  define  them  as  "temporary  limits  to  improvement." 
In  terms  of  our  three  terms,  Situation,  Bond,  and  Response,  we  may  say 
that  certain  details  in  the  situation  are  not  affecting  the  learner  as  they 
should.  Because  they  are  not,  there  is  little  or  no  response  to  them  and 
hence  no  improvement  in  the  bonds  connecting  those  details  in  the  sit- 
uation with  their  appropriate  details  in  the  response.  Later  these  de- 
tails commence  to  affect  the  learner,  the  bonds  between  those  details  and 
their  responses  commence  to  be  used  and  improvement  follows.  At 
least  this  was  apparently  the  case  here.  The  little  irregularities  in  the 
drawn  line  together  with  various  memories  which  make  up  our  notion 
of  accuracy,  all  these  were  not  affecting  the  learner  so  strongly  as  they 
might.  As  these  details  were  being  reacted  to  only  a  little  or  not  at  all 
there  was  little  or  no  chance  for  the  bonds  to  be  developed.  Later  these 
same  details  would  commence  to  affect  the  learner  and  then  there 
would  come  improvement  in  accuracy. 

We  shall  then  need  to  add  to  our  previous  conceptions  of  a  learning 
curve — rapid  improvement  at  first  with  less  and  less  improvement  as 
time  goes  on — this  notion  of  a  plateau.  Improvement  may  cease  en- 
tirely, certainly  as  far  as  objective  proof  is  concerned,  for  a  period  of 
time  and  then  commence  again.  (Later  on  in  this  course  we  shall  go 
into  this  subject  of  plateaus  and  endeavor  to  ascertain  in  more  detail 
the  causes  of  their  appearance.) 

The  plateau  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  peculiar  kind  of  fluctuation  or 
deviation  from  the  true  course  of  learning.  It  is  a  deviation  which 
extends  over  a  number  of  trials.  The  most  common  form  of  deviation 
is  that  which  occurs  very  frequently  in  practically  all  learning  curves 
and  consists  in  sudden  up  or  down  deviations  from  the  general  trend 
of  the  curve.  In  Plate  III,  Curve  A,  we  have  such  downward  fluctua- 
tions at  the  8th,  I2th,  14th,  etc..  trials,  and  an  upward  fluctuation  at 
the  7th  trial.  But  these  fluctuations  are  much  less  frequent  and  much 
less  prominent  in  Plate  ITI  than  they  are  in  curves  plotted  from  the  data 
of  just  one  individual.  These  fluctuations  from  trial  to  trial  have  al- 
ready been  referred  to  in  Lesson  6,  where  an  explanation  of  their 
cause  is  given. 

IVhat  light  do  the  data  secured  when  the  mirror  is  not  used  throw 
upon  the  main  result  of  this  experiment  f 

The  data  secured  when  the  mirror  is  not  used  give  us  a  clear  idea  of 
just  how  fast  and  accurately  the  subject  can  do  the  drawing  without  the 
mirror.  The  efficiency  shown  measures  the  strength  of  the  old  bonds 
formed  in  drawing,  writing,  etc.,  which  function  here.     There  is  no 


^O  INTRODUCrORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

reason  to  suppose  that  with  sufficient  practice  the  subject  couW  not 
reach  this  efficiency  under  the  new  experimental  condition.  These 
data  then  give  us  some  idea  of  the  possible  limit  to  the  learning  curve 
obtained  in  our  twenty  trials.  But  it  is  true  that  further  practice  with- 
out the  mirror  would  lead  one  to  draw  the  star  in  less  time  and  more 
accurately.  Consequently  even  this  determination  obtained  without  the 
mirror  is  not  low  enough  for  the  final  limit  that  might  be  reached  by 
a  vast  amount  of  practice  in  the  mirror.  The  final  limit  that  an  indi- 
vidual might  reach  with  unlimited  practice  is  called  the  physiological 
limit  to  the  learning.  It  means  that  the  physiological  processes  in- 
volved in  the  performance  require  a  certain  time  and  that  when  one 
reaches  this  limit  one  cannot  progress  further.  It  is  extremely  un- 
likely that  the  ordinary'  individual  ever  reaches  his  physiological  limit 
in  more  than  a  very  few  simple  processes  which  he  has  practiced  vig- 
orously a  great  many  times.  In  most  things  we  are  very  far  from  the 
limit. 

The  plateau,  referred  to  alcove,  may  be  thought  of,  then,  as  a  tcm^ 
porary  limit  in  distinction  to  the  physiological  limit  which  is  the  final 
permanent  limit  of  progress. 

What  applications  can  you  make  of  the  principles  you  have  discovered 
to  your  own  work? 

Knowledge  as  to  how  fast  a  child  of  a  certain  age  could  possibly  add 
columns  of  figures  (physiological  limit)  would  be  helpful  in  handling 
him,  especially  when  his  work  shows  that  he  is  on  a  plateau.  By  this 
we  do  not  mean  that  our  ideal  is  to  have  a  child  even  approximately 
attain  his  physiological  limit.  Far  from  it.  But  it  would  help  keep  us 
from  fearing  to  overstrain  the  boy  when  what  he  needs  is  to  be  urged  to 
do  his  best. 

Miss  K.  Anthony  reports  a  case  of  an  exceedingly  bright  boy  who 
was  but  9  years  old  but  had  been  advanced  to  the  6th  Grade.  He 
stood  at  the  head  of  his  class  in  all  matters  of  originality,  initiative,  and 
clear  thinking  but  near  the  bottom  in  speed  of  handwriting,  in  draw- 
ing, and  manual  work.  She  believes  his  inability  to  do  these  latter  per- 
formances as  well  as  the  average  member  of  the  class  is  due  to  kis  im- 
maturity. An  II  or  12  year  old  boy  is  physically  stronger  and  more 
dexterous  than  a  9  year  old  boy,  just  because  he  is  two  or  three  years 
older.  And  this  difference  is  great  enough  so  that  a  9  year  old  bright 
boy  is  seriously  handicapped  in  competing  with  an  average  12  year  old. 
If  Miss  Anthony's  conception  is  correct,  i.  e.,  that  her  9  year  «ld  boy 
is  doing  poor  work  in  manual  training  just  because  he  is  too  )ioi»ng. 
then  there  need  be  no  worry  about  his  poor  performance.  He  is  doing 
as  well  as  can  be  expected  of  a  9  year  old,  altho  it  is  not  6th  Grade  work. 


LKSSON   8  41 

But  if  she  is  wrong  and  he  does  poor  work  because  he  is  not  interested 
or  not  gifted  along  these  lines,  then  extra  effort  should  be  put  forth  to 
get  him  to  do  better.  An  exact  knowledge  of  what  different  aged  boys 
could  do  and  what  they  naturally  do  do  in  manual  training  would  help 
her  here  in  determining  how  to  handle  him. 

Miss  Mary  L.  McGahey  found  it  impossible  to  improve  Carl's  arith- 
metic work  as  to  speed.  He  was  a  6th  Grade  pupil  and  did  good  work 
but  did  not  solve  simple  arithmetical  problems  as  fast  as  he  should.  The 
fact  that  Miss  McGahey  knew  that  his  rate  of  work  was  muck  l>elow 
what  an  average  boy  could  do  made  her  realize  that  Carl  was  on  a 
plateau  which  was  far  from  being  his  physiological  limit.  This  made 
her  realize  that  something  was  wrong  and  that  it  "was  up  to  her"  to 
find  it.  Finally  she  noticed  that  he  tapped  twice  before  commencing 
to  solve  the  simple  combinations  as 

4874 

2,3,1,0,     etc.    On  calling  his  attention  to  the  matter 

and  then  reproving  him  every  time  he  did  tap,  she  quickly  broke  him 
of  the  habit.  As  a  result  he  increased  his  rate  of  work  by  50%  in  a  few 
hours'  time.  If  Miss  McGahey  had  not  known  (i)  what  a  child  of 
Carl's  age  ought  to  do  and  (2)  that  he  was  making  no  progress,  she 
would  probably  have  never  discovered  the  tapping  and  so  never  have 
trained  him  to  do  arithmetic  problems  at  an  efficient  rate.  (The  tapping 
is  undoubtedly  a  survival  of  an  earlier  habit  of  counting  by  making 
dashes  on  paper,  instead  of  with  one's  fingers.  Apparently  Car!  o«  fin- 

4 
ishing  writing  6  as  the  answer  of  2  had  to  tap  twice  before  commencing 

8 
to  think  what  3  meant,     lender  such  a  method  he  had  pretty  nearly 

reached  his  physiological  limit.    When  the  tapping  was  eliminated  then 

8 
he  was  able  to  think  the  answer  11  to  3  while  writing  the  6  and  so  could 

write  continuously  the  answers  to  these  problems,  working  out  tiie  an- 
swers ahead  of  where  he  was  writing.)* 

•Kate  Aathony.  Mary  L.  McGahey,  Edward  K.  Strong,  Ir.  The  Develcjinieat  of 
Proper  Attitudes  Toward  School  Work.     School  and  Society,  Dec.   25.    1913.   II..  •»t6-934. 


42  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCIIOLOOY   TOR  TEACHERS 

LESSON  9— GENERAL  REVIEW 

Instead  of  laboratory  work  at  the  next  class  hour  (9th  Lesson),  op- 
portunity will  be  furnished  the  members  of  the  various  sections  to  meet 
with  their  instructor  and  clear  up  any  points  so  far  covered  which  are 
not  yet  clear. 

REVIEW 

Behavior,  we  have  come  to  see,  can  be  broken  up  into  three  major 
conceptions:  The  Situation,  (the  sum  total  of  all  the  elements  afifecting 
the  individual),  the  Response  (the  sum  total  of  all  the  muscular  move- 
ments resulting  from  the  effect  of  the  situation)  and  the  Bond  (the 
specific  nerve  connections  between  the  sense-organs  affected  by  the  sit- 
uation and  the  muscles  involved  in  the  response). 

Lcarnini^  consists  in  the  formation  of  bonds  (nerve  connections)  be- 
tween situations  and  the  appropriate  responses. 

The  Laws  of  learning  are  the  laws  as  to  the  formation  of  bonds.  We 
have  become  familiar  already  with  several  of  these  laws.  For  example : 
there  is  rapid  improvement  at  first  with  less  and  less  improvement  as 
practice  continues ;  improvement  is  never  continuous — there  are  al- 
ways fluctuations  in  the  curve  of  learning;  under  certain  conditions 
plateaus  develop — periods  of  no  apparent  improvement ;  and  there  is  a 
limit  to  improvement  (physiological  limit)  beyond  which  we  can  not 
go,  but  which  is  practically  never  reached  due  to  lack  of  sufficiently 
strenuous  practice. 

DIFFERENT  TYPES  OF  LEARNING. 

In  the  case  of  reciting  the  alphabet  forwards  an  individual  utilizes 
(i)  already  well  developed  bonds  governing  the  pronunciation  of  the 
twenty-six  letters,  and  (2)  bonds  governing  the  succession  of  individual 
bonds.  To  make  this  point  clearer,  suppose  the  Experiment  had  called 
for  ten  recitations  of  the  Russian  alphabet.  In  that  case  you  would  not 
have  known  the  letters  at  all  nor  their  pronunciation  and  moreover  you 
would  not  have  known  their  order  of  succession.  In  the  experiment  with 
the  English  alphabet,  the  command  "recite  alphabet"  starts  a  long  series 
of  responses  each  of  which  is  connected  with  the  succeeding  one  by  a 
bond,  i.  e., 

Situation  Response 

1.  "Recite  alphabet"  saying  "a" 

2.  ( I )  and  saying  "a"  saying    "b" 

3.  (i),  (2)  and  saying  "b"  .saying  "c" 
etc. 

As  each  letter  is  pronounced  it  becomes  a  part  of  the  situation  to 
which  we  react  in  pronouncing  the  next  letter.    The  original  situation 


LESSON  9  43 

"Recite  Alphabet"  also  remains  a  part  of  the  situation  thruout.  If  it 
did  not  one  would  be  likely  to  stop  reciting  or  wander  off  onto  other 
things. 

As  an  opposite  extreme  to  this  case,  imagine  an  experiment  in  which 
you  were  called  on  to  wiggle  your  ears.  You  would  be  unable  to  do  it 
at  first  because  you  have  no  bonds  at  all  between  the  situation  ("wiggle 
your  ears")  and  the  response  (contracting  the  muscles  which  move 
your  ears.)  Here  the  only  way  in  the  world  you  can  learn  to  gam  con- 
trol of  this  bond  is  by  trying  all  sorts  of  movements  in  the  hope  that 
eventually  you  will  hit  upon  the  proper  one,  i.  e.,  the  moving  of  your 
ears. 

In  the  case  of  reciting  the  alphabet  forwards,  you  make  only  appro- 
priate movements  with  slight  mistakes  from  time  to  time  (fluctuations). 
In  the  case  of  wiggling  your  ears,  you  make  inappropriate  movements 
with  occasionally  the  correct  movement.  This  second  type  of  learning 
is  called  "tri.al  and  error,"  as  it  is  characterized  primarily  by  many  trials 
and  many  errors. 

We  can  classify  different  types  of  learning  according  to  the  follow- 
ing elements. 

1.  Necessary  Bonds  exist.  Order    of    succession    of    ^MJnds 

known. 

2.  Necessary  Bonds  exist.  Order  of  succession  not  known. 

a.  Order  is  calculated. 

b.  Order  is  not  calculated. 

3.  Necessary  Bonds  do  not  exist.     Order    of    succession,    therefore. 

not  known. 

a.  Order  is  calculated. 

b.  Order  is  not  calculated. 
"Reciting  the  alphabet  forwards"  is  typical  of  type  i.  The  .specific 

elements  all  exist  and  their  exact  order  of  succession  is  also  known. 
Further  practice  results  in  improvement  in  the  performance,  but  the 
improvement  is  relatively  slight.  It  is  customary  to  think  of  such 
further  practice  as  "drill"  rather  than  "learning."  So  after  the  multipli- 
cation table  is  known,  i.  e.,  each  element  is  known  (situation  "6  times 
7,"  res]x>nse  "42")  and  the  order  of  the  groups  is  known,  we  call 
further  practice  "drill  work"  not  learning. 

"Reciting  the  alphabet  backwards"  is  typical  of  type  2a.  We  know  the 
individual  elements  (saying  the  letters)  hut  we  do  not  know  the  order 
of  succession  (z,  y.  x,  w.  etc.)  But  we  can  silently  recite  the  ilphal^et 
forwards  until  we  come  to  "w,  x,  y,  z,"  then  hold  these  four  letters  in 
mind  and  recite  "z,  y,  x.  w"  ;  then  recite  forwards  again  until  we  reach 
"s,  t,  u,  V."  then  recite  aloud  "v.  u.  t,  s."  etc.  Continued  practice  as  we 
have  seen,  will  shortlv  make  unnecessarv  the  forward  recitations.     In 


44  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

this  way  the  task  of  reciting  the  alphabet  backwards  is  gradually  trans- 
ferred from  class  2a  to  class  i. 

Solving  the  usual  mechanical  puzzle  is  typical  of  type  2b.  Here  we 
are  able  to  make  all  the  necessary  movements  but  we  do  not  k»ow 
which  ones  to  make;  and  the  puzzle  actually  consists  in  discovering 
the  necessary  movements  and  their  proper  order.  Before  we  have  dis- 
covered this  order  we  may  have  made  all  of  the  necessary  movenaents 
many  times  but  always  in  an  incorrect  order. 

The  mirror-drawing  is  typical  of  type  3a.  The  necessary  bonds  do  not 
exist,  but  we  see  immediately  whether  we  are  going  in  the  right  direc- 
tion— hence  the  order  is  in  a  sense  given  us.  Looking  in  the  mirror  up- 
sets our  usual  set  of  bonds  for  the  guidance  of  the  hand  in  drawing. 
Usually  when  we  wish  to  draw  a  line  towards  our  body  we  make  cer- 
tain movements ;  now  we  find  that  these  do  not  bring  the  hand,  as  we 
see  it  in  the  mirror,  towards  the  body.  We  must  make  new  movements. 
At  first  we  do  not  know  what  to  do.  Gradually,  however,  out  of  the 
many  movements  performed  by  us,  we  make  the  correct  movements 
more  and  more  often.  Eventually  a  bond  is  formed  between  "situation 
— follow  between  two  printed  lines  towards  our  body  as  seen  in  the  mir- 
ror"— and  the  response  to  actually  move  our  hand  away  from  the  body. 
Gradually,  then,  after  considerable  practice  the  mirror-drawing  task 
changes  over  from  type  3a  to  i. 

Learning  to  wiggle  one's  ears,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out,  is  an 
example  of  the  most  extreme  type  of  learning,  for  here  we  do  not 
know  what  movements  to  make  nor  do  we  know  from  watching  our  own 
performance  when  we  have  really  made  the  movement  we  have  seen 
another  boy  make.  For  sometimes  we  move  our  ears  but  also  our 
whole  scalp  or  the  side  of  our  face.  The  latter  element  we  do  not  want. 
Have  we  moved  our  scalp  or  the  side  of  our  face  and  only  incidentally 
our  ears,  or  have  we  actually  moved  our  ears  and  shall  we,  with 
further  practice  in  this  way  be  able  to  eliminate  the  scalp  or  face  move- 
ment? We  have  no  way  of  telling.  Consequently  we  keep  trying  and 
trying  and  finally  accomplish  our  purpose,  or  in  most  cases,  we  give  it 
up  as  a  bad  job. 

Learning  the  characteristics  of  the  learning  process,  as  you  are 
doing  in  this  course,  can  be  made  by  any  particular  author  to  fit  any 
one  of  these  types  of  learning.  He  can  supply  you  with  every  detail  in 
one,  two,  three  order  and  expect  you  to  memorize  the  material  and  thru 
drill  have  you  recite  it  as  glibly  as  you  do  the  alphabet.  Or  he  can  as- 
sign very  indefinite  problems  and  leave  you  to  discover  the  elements 
and  their  order  of  relationship  (type  3b).  The  former,  however,  will  not 
result  in  your  obtaining  a  workable  use  of  the  material :  the  later  will 


LESSON  9  45 

take  too  long  and  is  too  discouraging,  altho  if  you  do  learn  this  way  you 
have  a  wonderful  grasp  of  the  subject.  Consequently,  the  present 
author  prefers  to  present  the  material  in  the  experiments  in  the  form  of 
types  2  or  3,  followed,  as  in  this  lesson,  with  a  discussion  of  the  material, 
so  that  missing  bonds  may  be  identified  and  learned  and  their  relation- 
ships to  one  another  comprehended  and  also  learned.  The  material  in 
this  lesson  is  not  given  to  be  memorized;  it  is  given  as  a  guide,  just 
as  the  printed  lines  in  the  mirror-drawing  were  a  guide,  so  that  you 
may  have  a  better  idea  of  where  you  are  going  and  how  the  different 
parts  of  the  course  fit  together. 

LESSON  lO—EXAMINATION  COVERING  THE  WORK  OF  THE 

COURSE  SO  FAR 

The  lOth  class-hour  will  be  devoted  to  a  general  examination  cover- 
ing the  work  of  the  whole  course, 

ASSIGNMENT  OF  WORK  TO  BE  HANDED  IN  AT  THE  IITII  CLASS-HOUR. 

I.  Spend  one  hour  and  a  half  in  looking  over  one  or  more  of  the 
following  standard  textbooks  in  psychology  and  in  writing  about  three 
hundred  words  concerning  what  you  got  out  of  this  assignment.  The 
assignment  is  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  acquainting  you  with  such  text- 
books so  that  you  may  come  to  know  where  to  turn  when  you  want  to 
look  up  a  topic  in  psychology.  The  textbooks  are: — 

J.  R.  Angell,  Psychology,  1909. 

J.  R.  Angell.    An  Introduction  to  Psychology,  1918. 

B.  B.  Breese,  Psychology,  1917. 

M.  W.  Calkins,  A  First  Book  in  Psychology,  1910. 

M.  W.  Calkins,  Introduction  to  Psycliology,  1902. 
S.  S.  Colvin  and  W.  C.  Bagley,  Human  Behaznor,  191 3. 

S.  S.  Colvin,  The  Learning  Process,  1911. 

K.  Dunlap,  A  System  of  Psychology,  1912. 

H.  Ebbinghans,  Psychology,  trans,  by  M.  Meyer,  1908. 
-    F.  N.  Freeman,  Hozv  Children  Learn,  191 7. 
—IC  Gordon,  Educational  Psychology,  1917. 

Wm.  James,  Psychology,  Briefer  Course,  1802. 

Wm.  ]2imQs^ Psychology,  2  vols.  1890. 

C.  H.  Judd,  Psychology,  General  Introduction,  1907. 

G.  T.  Ladd  &  R.  S.  Woodworth,  Physiological  Psychology,  1911. 

Max  Meyer,  Fundamental  Lazvs  of  Human  Behavior,  1911. 

W.  B.  Pillsbury,  The  Essenti-als  of  Psychology,  191 1. 

W.  B,  Pillsbury,  The  Fundamentals  of  Psychology,  1916, 

C.  E.  Seashore,  Elementary  Experiments  in  Psychology,  1908. 


46  INTRODUCTORY   HSVCflOLOCV   I'UR  TKACIllvRS 

K.  L.  Thorndike,  Elements  of  Psychology,  1905. 
•   K.  L.  Thorndike,  Bdueational  Psychology,  Briefer  Course,  1914. 

E.  L.  Thorndike,  Educational  Psychology,  3  vol.  1913. 

E.  B.  Titchener.  Outlives  of  Psychology,  1896. 

E.  B.  Titchencr,  Textbook  of  Psychology,  191 2. 

E.  B.  Titchencr,  Beginners'  Psychology,  191 5. 

J.  B.  Watson,  Behavior,  1914. 

2.  Read  over  the  details  listed  below  re.q'arding  the  const ructi'm  ot 
learning  curves.  They  are  not  to  be  memorized,  but  should  be  fre- 
quently referred  to  until  they  have  all  been  mastered.  It  will  take  some 
time  before  you  will  draw  curves  readily  and  correctly.  In  this  scien- 
tific age  no  one  can  call  himself  educated  who  does  not  know  how  to 
use  this  method  of  expressing  complex  ideas.  Once  you  have  mastered 
the  intricacies  of  this  new  "language"  you  will  be  astonished  to  find 
how  often  you  make  use  of  it.  Place  before  you  the  model  gfraph  given 
in  Plate  I,  Lesson  i,  and  note  how  the  rules  given  here  are  exem- 
plified in  it. 

SOM^  INFORMATION   CONCERNING  THE  CONSTRICTION  OF  LKARNING 

CURVES. 

1.  All  learning  curves  are  based  on  two  columns  of  data.    The  first 

column  indicates  the  successive  trials  or  successive  units  of  time  in 

terms  of  which  the  progress  of  learning  is     measured.     The     second 

column  gives  the  measurements  of  the  learning.    For  example,  the  data 

on  which  Curve  B  in  Plate  I  is  based  are  as  follows : — 

XumbcT  of  Seconds  Required  to  Recite 

Trials  the   Alphabet    Backwards. 

1  460 

2  30. 1 

3  ^8-4 

4  27.8 

5  251 

6  22.9 

7  21.0 

8  21.8 

9  21.2 

10  20.1 

11  20.2 

12  16.9 

13  18.2 

14  t6.o 

15  15.3 

16  15.6 

17  136 

18  13.9 

19  15-5 

20  12.5 

2.  The  trials  are  indicated  along  the  horizontal  axis  and  the  "meas- 
urements of  the  learning"  along  the  vertical  axis. 


LKISSON   lO 


47 


3.  Figures  for  the  horizontal  scale  should  always  be  placed  at  the 
bottom  of  the  chart  and  the  figures  for  the  vertical  scale  at  the  left. 
Make  clear  what  the  scales  mean. 

4.  In  the  curves  in  the  psychological  field,  the  horizontal  scale 
should  read  from  left  to  right  and  the  vertical  scale  from  bottom  to  top. 

5.  All  lettering  and  all  figures  on  a  chart  should  be  placed  so  as  to 
be  read  from  the  base  or  from  tlie  right-hand  edge  of  the  chart. 

6.  Points  on  the  curve  should  be  indicated  with  little  crosses  (x) 
and  connected  with  a  line  that  is  heavier  than  the  co-ordinate  ruling  so 
that  the  curves  may  be  clearly  distinguished  from  the  background. 

7.  Only  in  exceptional  cases  should  the  zero  line  of  the  scale  be 
omitted.  If  it  would  require  too  much  space  to  include  the  zero  base 
line,  the  bottom  should  be  a  slightly  wavy  line  indicating  that  the  field 
has  been  broken  ofif  and  does  not  reach  to  zero.  This  is  shown  in  the 
accompanying  graph,  Plate  IV. 

8.  The  title  of  a  chart  should  be 
so  complete  and  so  clear  that  mis- 
interpretation will  be  impossible.  In 
fact,  the  ideal  is  to  write  so  defi- 
nitely that  if  a  stranger  picked  up 
the  chart  he  could  imderstand  what 
it  meant.* 


*A  good  references  on  this  subject  for 
those  interested  in  the  subject  is:  W.  C. 
Brinton,  Graphic  Methods  for  Presenting 
Facts. 


Plate  IV,  Modol  graph, showing 
how  zero  base  line  BhotQd  b« 
indicated  when  there  is  not 
space  available  to  include 
base  line. 


48  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

LESSON  11— THE  RELATIONSHIP  OF  "METHOD,"  "ATTI- 
TUDE" AND   "FEELING"   TO  LEARNING 

Some  of  the  more  obvious  laws  of  learning  have  been  presented.  We 
are  now  ready  to  attempt  a  more  careful  study  of  less  apparent  factors. 

What  happens  when  we  change  our  method  of  doing  a  certain  task — 
say  of  playing  golf,  of  going  from  the  sight  to  touch  method  in  type- 
writing, or  discovering  a  new  way  to  solve  originals  in  geometry?  Do 
our  feelings  affect  our  work  ?  We  think  they  do :  but  do  they  really  do 
so?  Does  the  man  that  is  confident  do  l>etter  than  the  man  that  is 
fearful?    If  so,  why? 

MIRROR-DRAWING  EXPERIMENT  (repeated) 

Problem:    What  factors  arc  involved  in  learning  Mirror-Draivingf 

Apparatus:  Mirrow-Drawing  Outfit;  lo  six-pointed  star  blanks; 
watch. 

Procedure:  E  should  here  be  the  S  of  the  7th  class-hour  and  S  the 
E  of  that  exercise.  Follow  the  general  procedure  of  the  7th  class-hour, 
but  here  S  should  only  draw  with  the  right  hand  in  the  mirror. 

The  emphasis  is  not  upon  completing  10  drawings  hut  upon  obfainino 
as  detailed  an  idea  of  how  one  learns  as  is  possible.  Consequently  after 
each  drawing,  S  should  note  down  every  fact  that  occurs  to  him  regard- 
ing his  method  of  doing  the  work,  the  ideas  that  came  to  him  while 
doing  the  drawing,  his  attitude  toward  the  work,  his  feelings,  etc.  E 
should  also  record  changes  in  method  which  he  notes  in  S,  changes  in 
feeling  or  attitude  toward  the  work,  etc.  Note  down,  for  example,  every 
sigh  or  exclamation  of  impatience,  and  ascertain  if  there  is  any  relatit)n 
between  its  occurrence  and  success  or  failure. 

Results:  E  should  have  recorded,  (i)  the  time  of  each  performance, 
(2)  the  number  of  errors  in  each  drawing,  and  (3)  the  observations  of 
both  S  and  E  accompanying  each  performance. 

Draw  three  curves  as  in  the  7th  class-hour  experiment. 

Questions : 

1.  What  changes  take  place  when  the  same  performance  is  re- 
peated a  number  of  times?  Consider  (a)  differences  in  method  or 
''mode  of  attack,"  (b)  differences  in  attitude  toward  the  work,  (c)  dif- 
ferences in  feeling  and  emotion. 

2.  How  do  such  changes  affect  the  changes  in  speed  and  accuracy  ? 

3.  How  are  improvements  hit  upon?  Were  they  (a)  accidental, 
(b)  partly  understood,  or  (c)  thoroughly  understood  beforehand? 

Applications:  What  applications  can  you  make  of  the  laws  you  have 
discovered  here  to  your  work? 

Write  up  this  experiment  and  hand  it  in  at  the  next  class-hour. 


LESSON  12— RELATIONSHIP  OF  "METHOD,"  "ATTITUDE" 
AND  "FEEUNG"  TO  "LEARNING"- 

(Continued) 

WHAT  CHANGES  TAKK  PLACE  WHEN  THE  SAME  PERFORMANCE  IS 
REPEATED  A  NUMBER  OF  TIMES. 

a.  Differences  in  method  or  "mode  of  attack."  There  are  a  num- 
ber of  different  methods  of  doing  the  mirror-drawing.  Most  indi- 
viduals learn  thru  trying  this  thing  and  then  that.  Here  and  there  is  an 
individual  who  utilizes  his  knowledge  of  physics  and  figures  out  how  his 
movements  should  be  made.  But  in  even  these  cases  there  is  considerable 
of  the  "try  this,  try  that"  performance.  Then  again,  most  individuals 
direct  the  movement  very  largely  by  the  eye.  But  occasionally  an  indi- 
vidual initiates  each  new  movement  in  terms  of  the  relationship  of  his 
pencil  to  his  little  finger.  If  he  desires  to  move  toward  his  little  finger 
(determined  thru  vision)  he  then  moves  his  forefinger  and  thumb 
toward  his  little  finger — the  guidance  being  in  terms  of  finger-move- 
ments not  in  terms  of  vision.  The  eye  is  used  in  this  case  simply  to 
record  the  general  direction  desired  and  to  guide  the  pencil  between 
the  two  red  lines. 

As  practice  continues  the  individual  may  steadily  improve  on  the  de- 
tails of  his  procedure  or  he  may  from  time  to  time  try  other  methods. 
In  the  latter  case  he  may  return  to  his  first  method  or  he  may  abandon 
it  entirely.  There  is  no  general  rule  to  be  laid  down  as  to  the  course  of 
these  changes.  Each  individual  should,  however,  endeavor  to  ascertain 
as  accurately  as  he  may  just  what  changes  did  take  place  hi  his  own 
case. 

b.  Differences  in  attitude  toward  the  zvork.  Ruger**  calls  attention 
to  three  different  general  attitudes  toward  one's  work.  He  calls  them 
{ i)  the  self-attentive  attitude,  (2)  the  suggestible  attitude,  and  (3)  the 
problem  attitude. 

The  self-attentii'e  attitude  is  illustrated  by  him  by  this  extract  from 
a  man's  account  of  how  he  solved  a  puzzle.  "It  seemed  to  me  that  if 
anybody  had  given  it  to  me  without  saying  that  it  was  a  puzzle  (a  bona 
fide  one)  I  would  have  said  it  was  impossible  up  to  the  last  minute.  I 
have  a  feeling  now  of  loss  of  esteem.  I  had  this  all  along  because  I 
couldn't  do  something  which  was  made  for  people  with  ordinary  brains 

*«H.  A.  Ruger.  The  Psychology  of  Efficiency.   1910,  pp.   36-39. 


•CLASS-HOUR 

IN  CLASS 

WRITE  UP 

READ 

12 

13 

Discuss,    1  1 
Elxperiment.   13 

Lesson  13 

Lesson   12 

1 

49 


50  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

to  do.  One  conclusion  that  kept  running  through  my  mind  all  the 
time  was  that  I  had  a  subordinate  mind.  I  couldn't  help  having  a  glee- 
ful, self-satisfied  feeling  when  it  actually  seemed  to  be  coming  off,  altho 
it  was  a  surprise." 

Individuals  possessed  with  this  self-attentive  attitude  expressed  them- 
selves as  being  afraid  that  the  experimenter  was  getting  bored  because 
they  were  slow,  or  that  he  would  think  them  extremely  stupid,  etc.  The 
principal  thing,  then,  that  occupied  the  minds  of  people  with  this  atti- 
tude was  the  concern  as  to  their  general  fitness  and  as  to  what  others 
would  think  of  them. 

l^he  suggestible  attitude.  Ruger  says,  "In  two  of  the  men  there  seemed 
to  be  a  special  sensitiveness  toward  any  movements  of  the  operator 
which  might  give  an  indication  as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued.  In  such 
cases  as  this  there  is  a  lack  of  confidence  in  the  self  but  the  attention  is 
directed  not  to  the  self  but  to  some  other  person.  The  center  of  gravity, 
if  one  may  so  describe  it,  of  the  responsibility  is  located  elsewhere  and 
the  suggestions,  intentional  or  unintentional,  of  the  other  person  or  per- 
sons concerned  are  accepted  uncritically.  This  tendency  was  noted  by 
the  writer  in  his  own  case  in  novel  situations  of  a  more  distinctly  social 
type,  such  as  business  transactions  of  an  unaccustomed  sort,  or  other 
similar  cases  where  persons  instead  of  things  were  to  be  dealt  with  and 
where  the  other  person  was  felt  to  have  superior  information  as  to  the 
matter  in  hand  and  the  self  to  be  deficient." 

Probably  all  have  experienced  this  attitude  when  attempting  to  do 
something  new  while  in  the  presence  of  others.  This  is  particularly 
true  when  those  present  are  known  to  know  more  about  the  task  than 
one's  self.  Their  presence  bothers  us ;  very  often  we  make  mistakes 
that  we  know  we  would  not  make  if  we  had  been  alone.  Here  our  at- 
tention is  directed  even  more  toward  those  who  are  present  than  to 
the  work  before  us.  And  at  such  times  we  are  especially  susceptible 
to  any  indications  from  these  persons  as  to  whether  we  are  doing 
well  or  poorly. 

The  Problem  Attitude.  "In  contradistinction  to  these  two  attitudes, 
which  are  certainly  not  favorable  to  efficiency,"  this  third  attitude  is 
essentially  an  attitude  of  self-confidence.  "The  self-confidence  is  not 
one  of  sluggish  complacency,  however,  but  is  expressed  in  a  high  level 
of  intellectual  activity,  of  attention.  Attention  would  be  directed  to  the 
thing  to  be  done  rather  than  to  appraisal  of  the  self." 

In  this  particular  experiment  undoubtedly  most  subjects  had  some- 
what of  the  self-attentive  attitude,  or  the  suggestible  attitude,  or  both 
to  start  with.    And  as  practice  continued  the  earlier  attitude  faded  out 


LF.SSON'    T2  51 

more  and  more  and  the  problem  attitude  took  its  place.  Occasionally  a 
subject  displays  only  the  problem  attitude  thruout  the  practice  period. 
And  occasionally  also  a  subject  continues  to  show  the  self-attentive 
attitude  thruout.  but  this  is  rather  rare.  Usually  there  is  a  noticeable 
change  toward  the  adoption  of  the  problem  attitude. 

Some  of  the  factors  that  bring  about  this  change  in  attitude  are  the 
realization  that  one  is  improving,  that  one  can  do  the  task,  that  another 
is  doing  it  successfully,  etc.  But  sometimes  the  latter  factor  reacts  in 
just  the  opposite  way.  Later  on  in  this  course,  we  shall  return  to  this 
subject  of  attitude  towards  one's  work,  and  endeavor  to  discover  the 
causes  of  these  attitudes  and  the  ways  in  which  the  third  attitude  may  be 
substituted  for  the  first  two.  In  the  meantime  accumulate  what  infor- 
mation you  can  on  the  subject,  as  it  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  biggest 
problems  a  real  teacher  has  to  face — the  problem  of  making  boys  and 
girls  and  men  and  women  really  self-confident  about  their  work. 

c.  Differences  in  feeling.  As  we  shall  come  to  learn  later  on,  feel- 
ing is  technically  either  pleasant  or  unpleasant.  Besides  these  two 
aspects  of  feeling  there  are  the  emotions  of  fear,  hate,  love,  anger,  etc. 
It  is  not  likely  that  a  real  emotion  is  aroused  in  this  experiment,  except 
that  of  anger,  and  only  then  in  the  case  of  a  few  individuals. 

During  the  first  few  trials  the  work  did  not  go  smoothly.  One  real- 
ized that  he  took  altogether  too  much  time  in  doing  the  drawing  and 
that  there  were  too  many  mistakes.  Continued  failure  to  accomplish 
what  is  desired  always  is  accompanied  by  an  unpleasant  feeling.  If 
this  is  continued  too  long  anger  will  arise.  But  as  the  practice  pro- 
gressed, the  work  became  easier,  fewer  mistakes  were  made,  and  the 
whole  drawing  took  less  time.  With  each  improvement  there  came 
less  and  less  of  unpleasantness  and  more  and  more  of  pleasantness.  So 
after  a  time  the  original  feeling  of  unpleasantness  changed  over  to 
pleasantness.    Then  one  was  really  interested  in  the  task. 

As  practice  is  continued,  however,  the  improvement  becomes  less  and 
less  (refer  again  to  Plates  I  and  III.  The  novelty  of  the  task  dis- 
appears, and  thoughts  come  to  mind  of  more  interesting  or  of  more 
valuable  performances  that  one  might  be  doing  if  it  weren't  for  this  re- 
quired task.  The  inability  to  carry  out  these  performances  because 
of  the  mirror-drawing  may  then  bring  again  into  consciousness  unpleas- 
ant feelings.  Whether  one  does  then  change  from  a  pleasant  to  an  un- 
pleasant feeling-attitude  toward  the  task  at  the  close  of  the  experiment 
will  depend  on  the  interplay  of  the  pleasantness  associated  with  the  con- 
tinued improvement  versus  the  unpleasantness  due  to  physical  fatigur, 
inability  to  do  other  things,  etc. 


52  IXTRODUCTORY    I'SYCIIOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

Even  if  one  does  thus  swing  from  unpleasantness  to  pleasantness,  and 
then  back  to  unpleasantness  again,  one  is  very  apt  to  discover  that  the 
last  two  or  three  trials  bring  pleasantness  again  to  mind.  Especially 
is  tliis  true  of  the  last  trial. 

(Arc  these  changes  in  feeling  typical  of  all  learning?  If  so,  to  what 
extent  should  a  teacher  pay  attention  to  them  as  shown  in  his  students  ? 
How  might  the  second  change  from  pleasantness  to  unpleasantness  be 
avoided?  If  these  changes  are  not  typical  -^f  all  learning,  how  do  they 
differ  here  from  other  examples  of  learning?) 

HOW  DO  CHANGES  IN    METHOD,  ATTITUDE  OR  FEELING  AFFECT  THE 
CHANGES  IN  SPEED  AND  ACCURACY? 

It  is  pretty  clear  that  the  changes  in  speed  and  accuracy  produce  very 
profound  changes  in  method,  attitude,  and  feeling.  It  is  a  fair  question 
to  ask,  on  the  other  hand,  if  the  latter  changes  affect  speed  and  accuracy. 
If  they  do  not,  it  is  immaterial  whether  the  learner  has  a  self-attentive 
attitude  or  a  problem  attitude,  whether  he  is  in  a  pleasant  or  unpleasant 
mood. 

Changes  in  method  do  profoundly  affect  speed  and  accuracy.  Even 
such  slight  changes  as  from  clutching  the  pencil  as  if  life  depended  on  it 
to  holding  it  naturally,  result  in  less  fatigue  and  consequently  in 
smoother  lines  and  less  unpleasantness.  When  careful  notes  are  kept 
it  is  often  very  easy  to  see  that  with  a  change  in  method  there  has  come 
decided  changes  in  speed  or  accuracy.  In  fact  from  a  study  of  the  time- 
curve  and  the  accuracy-curve  one  may  often  be  able  to  check  up  the 
introspections  (an  introspection  is  technically  an  observation  of  one's 
own  mental  processes)  of  the  subject  as  to  just  when  he  commenced  to 
emphasize  one  of  these  elements  more  and  the  other  less. 

From  our  analysis  of  the  three  attitudes  one  may  have  toward  his 
work,  it  is  clear  that  one  is  reacting  in  the  first  two  cases  not  only  to 
the  details  of  the  mirror-drawing  itself  but  to  other  details  which  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  task  in  hand — details  such  as  one's  feelings,  one's 
estimate  of  himself,  the  movements  of  the  experimenter,  etc.  As  one 
can  only  be  affected  by  a  certain  number  of  details,  the  elimination  of 
these  useless  details  may  make  it  possible  for  another  detail  in  the  mir- 
ror-drawing task  to  affect  one.  If  this  new  detail  is  the  one  that  must 
be  reacted  to  before  further  progress  may  be  made,  then  the  change 
in  attitude  may  bring  about  an  improvement  not  otherwise  possible. 
This  is  just  what  we  all  have  noticed  many  times.  Worry,  excitement, 
thoughts  of  ourselves  and  others  prevent  the  really  important  details 
for  the  solution  of  our  work  from  coming  into  play.  The  problem  at- 
titude represents  then  that  attitude  under  which  we  are  less  affected 
by  unimportant  details.     The  other  two  attitudes  represent  conditions 


LESSON   12  53 

of  work  when  certain  unimportant  details  are  being  reacted  to  and 
necessarily  other  important  attitudes  are  not  being  reacted  to. 

HOW    AKE    IMPROVEMENTS    HIT    UPON?    WERE    TllICY     (  A  )     ACCIDENT.^.. 
(b)    partly   understood,   or    (c)    THOROUGHLY   UNDERSTOOD^ 

Observations  from  different  individuals  vary  greatly  upon  this  sub- 
ject. One  individual  may  proceed  very  slowly  and  observe  very  care- 
fully what  is  to  be  done  and  just  what  he  is  doing  and  slowly  develop 
the  proper  method  for  doing  the  experiment.  In  his  case  there  will  be  a 
noticeable  number  of  "planned  out"  movements.  Another  individual 
may  make  no  "planned"  movements  at  all,  at  least  as  far  as  he  is  able 
to  report  the  matter.  All  that  such  an  individual  is  aware  of  is  that  he 
kept  trying  first  one  way,  then  another  in  apparently  a  very  aimless  sort 
of  way  and  that  as  time  went  on  he  came  to  realize  that  he  was  doing 
better  and  better.  Moreover,  from  time  to  time  he  also  came  to  realize 
that  he  was  doing  this  particular  part  of  the  work  in  this  particular 
sort  of  a  way.  For  example,  that  when  from  the  mirror  it  secmcfl 
as  tho  he  should  move  his  hand  away  Irom  his  body  he  then  moved  hh 
hand  toward  his  body.  But  the  significant  part  of  this  discovery  lies  in 
the  fact  that  he  was  already  more  or  less  successfully  making  this  move- 
ment toward  his  body  when  it  looked  as  tho  he  should  move  the  hand 
away  from  him  before  he  was  conscious  of  the  matter.  That  is,  the 
improvement  was  hit  upon  apparently  accidentally  and  later  it  became 
understood.  (Later  on  in  this  course  we  shall  come  to  see  that  the  im- 
provement was  not  hit  upon  accidentally,  but  was  the  true  resultant  of 
what  had  gone  before,  but  for  the  present  we  may  think  of  it  aj: 
accidental.) 

The  types  of  learning  illustrated  by  these  two  individuals  appear  at 
first  hand  to  be  very  different.  The  first  individual  plans  out  his  work. 
the  second  hits  upon  it  "accidentally."  In  one  sense  they  are  very  dif- 
ferent. The  former  represents  the  highest  type  of  human  learning, 
whereas  the  latter  represents  the  lowest  type — a  type  common  to  both 
human  beings  and  to  animals.  But  when  these  two  are  carefully  studied 
we  discover  that  they  only  differ  in  degree,  not  in  kind.  Altho  it  is 
true  that  the  first  individual  "planned"  out  some  of  his  methods  and 
movements,  yet  he  did  not  plan  out  all  of  them.  Many  of  them,  usually 
the  great  majority  of  them,  he  first  unconsciously  learned  how  to  do  an^ 
then  later  discovered  that  he  was  doing  them.  We  shall  want  to  char- 
acterize the  learning  of  these  two  typical  individuals  by  saying  that  the 
second  unconsciously  learned  nearly  or  entirely  all  that  he  did  and 
later  became  aware  of  part  of  what  he  was  doing,  whereas  the  first  con- 
sciously planned  out  a  few  of  his  movements  before  starting  to  do  them 
while  learning  the  rest  in  the  same  way  that  the  second  individual  ac- 
quired his. 


54  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR   TEACHERS 

Learning  to  do  a  task  similar  to  mirror-drawing  is  largely  character- 
ized by  the  unconscious  development  of  movements  which,  after  they 
have  become  fairly  well  established,  are  likely  to  become  consciously 
noticed.  Such  learning  has  been  called  "trial  and  error"  learning.  The 
expression  is  not  a  good  one,  but  it  has  been  widely  used  by  writers 
on  this  subject.  The  essential  characteristic  of  this  sort  of  learning  is 
that  we  do  not  Itave  at  hand  a  suitable  movement  (response)  to  the 
situation.  In  terms  of  situation,  bond  and  response,  there  is  no  bond 
existing  between  the  situation  confronting  the  learner  and  the  correct 
response.  For  example,  at  point  3  on  the  star-blank  one  must  proceed 
towards  4  (situation).  To  do  so  one  must  make  certain  movements 
(response.)  In  order  to  do  so  the  situation  and  the  response  must  be 
connected  by  a  bond.  Such  bonds  cannot  be  formed  voluntarily.  The 
only  way  open  is  to  try  one  movement  after  another  until  the  right 
movement  is  hit  upon.  Every  time  an  improper  movement  is  tried  it  is 
checked  immediately  since  it  leads  the  pencil  in  a  wrong  direction.  On 
the  other  hand,  every  time  the  correct  movement  is  tried  it  is  not 
checked  but  allowed  to  continue.  In  this  way  eventually  the  situation  is 
tied  up  with  the  correct  response,  inasmuch  as  the  bond  connecting  the 
two  has  been  used  more  than  any  other.  The  selection  of  this  correct 
movement  is  not  consciously  done.  It  becomes  consciously  known  only 
after  it  is  fairly  well  developed. 

This  type  of  learning  might  be  illustrated  roughly  in  this  way.  Sup- 
l)ose  'P  and  O.  who,  blindfolded,  are  standing  in  the  middle  of  a 
recently  harrowed  field  or  one  covered  with  snow.  P  determines  just  to 
which  part  of  the  field  he  wants  Q  to  go  but  he  doesn't  tell  him.  Q  is 
to  discover  this  point  by  keeping  walking,  agreeing  to  change  his  direc- 
tion whenever  P  calls  out  "change"  and  to  keep  going  when  P  says 
nothing.  Now  when  Q  starts  he  is  as  likely  to  go  one  way  as  another. 
The  consequence  is  that  he  will  start  a  number  of  times  and  because 
they  are  wrong  P  will  so  signal  and  Q  will  stop  and  start  again.  The 
snow  about  the  starting  point  will  become  all  trampled  because  of  these 
starts  and  stops.  But  presently  Q  will  hit  upon  the  correct  direction,  P 
will  no  longer  signal  to  stop  and  Q  will  continue  in  the  desired  direction. 
If  he  walks  in  a  straight  line  he  will  presently  reach  the  desired  point. 
If  he  doesn't  P  will  signal  to  change  and  Q  will  then  make  a  few  stops 
and  starts,  finally  hitting  on  the  correct  direction  again.  In  this  way  Q 
will  finally  reach  the  desired  point.  He  has  reached  it  thru  starting 
many  incorrect  movements  which  were  immediately  checked  and  then 
continuing  the  correct  movement  whenever  hit  upon.  Now  suppose  P 
and  Q  start  over  again.    The  process  will  be  largely  the  same  as  before. 


LESSON    12  55 

But  as  it  will  be  easier  walking  wherever  Q  has  traveled  before,  Q 
will  be  much  more  likely  to  continue  in  old  paths  than  to  make  new  ones. 
And  as  the  correct  direction  is  the  only  one  that  continues  for  any  dis- 
tance Q  will  be  aided  by  it  much  more  than  by  the  little  short  paths 
that  lead  in  the  wrong  direction.  Still  on  the  second  trial  Q's  guidance 
will  come  essentially  from  P's  signals.  As  P  and  Q  keep  up  this  stunt, 
the  correct  path  will  become  better  and  better  formed  and  Q  will  gradu- 
ually  come  to  rely  on  it  more  and  more  and  to  need  P's  signals  less  and 
less.  After  a  certain  number  of  trials  it  is  likely  that  Q  could  traverse 
the  distance  with  no  mistakes,  utilizing  the  well-worn  pathway  as  a 
guide  instead  of  the  signals  of  P. 

All  learning  consists  in  forming  a  new  situation-bond-responsc 
combination.  In  forming  such  a  new  combination  we  must  start  with 
some  already  formed  combinations  as  a  starting  point.  In  the  case  of 
drawing  line  1-2  in  the  mirror  we  start  with  the  combination  of  situa- 
tion (direction  toward  one)  and  response  (movement  of  hand  toward 
body),  indicated  in  the  diagram  by  Si  and  Ri.  But  the  response  Ri  is 
incorrect.  Many  other  movements  (R2-R8)  are  attempted.  Each  is 
checked  immediately.  Finally  movement  R9  (which  is  to  move  hand 
away  from  body)  is  commenced;  it  is  not  checked,  and  so  is  continued 
until  2  is  reached.  The  old  customary  habit,  situation  (direction  toward 
one)  response  (movement  of  hand  toward  body)  has  thus  been  modi- 
fied so  that  we  now  have  the  new  habit,  i.  e.,  situation  (direction  toward 
one)  response  (movement  of  hand  away  from  body).  R9  has  been 
substituted  for  Ri  as  the  response  to  Si.  After  a  number  of  stars  have 
been  drawn  this  new  habit  will  then  commence  to  function  efficiently 
It  will  do  so  because  the  bond  connecting  Si  and  R9  has  reached  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  strength. 


Now  the  reason  we  "hit  upon"  the  proper  movements  "accidentally" 
and  later  become  conscious  of  them  is  apparently  that  until  a  bond  has 
reached  a  certain  degree  of  strength  we  are  not  capable  of  being 
aware  of  it.  When  it  finally  has  reached  this  degree  of  strength  thru 
use,  we  then  suddenly  realize  just  what  we  are  doing.    In  terms  of  the 


5^  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY   FOR   TEACHERS 

sDow  field  scene  Q  will  not  at  first  notice  that  he  follows  his  former 
footsteps  in  preference  to  walking  thru  unbroken  snow.  After  a  time, 
however,  the  difference  in  ease  of  walking  along  a  path  as  compared 
with  walking  thru  the  snow  is  forced  upon  him.  After  that  he  is  as 
much  influenced  by  this  detail  of  the  situation  as  by  P's  signals.  And  in 
the  mirror-drawing  experiment  the  subject  at  first  doesn't  know  how 
he  gets  from  point  i  to  2.  After  a  time,  however,  he  realizes  that  to 
g"o  to  2  from  I  you  move  in  the  opposite  direction  from  what  you  want 
to,  or  he  may  not  reach  such  a  generalization  but  tell  you  that  he  dis- 
regards what  he  sees  and  allows  his  fingers  to  guide  the  moTcment.  In 
the  first  case  he  has  clearly  in  mind  what  he  is  doing.  In  the  latter  he 
is  more  in  the  stage  of  O  when  he  his  just  commenced  to  pay  attention 
to  the  feeling  of  path  versus  no  path  without  thinking  particularly 
about  the  meaning  of  this  difference. 

Let  us  return  now  to  the  original  question : — "How  are  improve- 
ments hit  upon?  Were  they  (a)  accidental,  (b)  partly  understood,  or 
(c)  thoroughly  understood?"  Fundamentally  we  have  in  such  a  type  of 
problem  as  this  mirror-drawing  experiment  a  case  where  an  old  situa- 
tion-bond-response  combination  is  modified  so  as  to  give  us  a  new  re- 
sponse to  the  same  situation.  Whenever  the  response  is  changed  there 
results  movements  more  or  less  of  the  "trial  and  error"  type.  i.  e.,  the 
starting  of  many  incorrect  movements  which  are  immediately  checked 
and  the  final  development  of  the  correct  movement  thru  its  being  al- 
lowed to  continue.  In  all  such  cases  the  correct  movement  will  be  "hit 
upon"  just  as  "accidentally"  as  are  any  of  the  incorrect  movements.  Its 
first  use  is  "accidental."  Its  second,  third,  fourth,  etc.,  uses  are  also  acci- 
dental. But  eventually  the  bond  connecting  the  situation  and  the  new 
response  reaches  a  certain  degree  of  strength  and  the  process  becomes 
a  conscious  one.  The  normal  thing  is  for  improvements  to  be  hit  upon 
first  and  later  to  become  consciously  known. 

But  there  are  cases  where  we  do  consciously  plan  out  the  movement 
before  we  commence  making  any  movements  at  all.  These  are  cases 
which  we  shall  study  more  intensively  later  under  the  heading  of  trans- 
fer of  training^.  It  is  sufficient  now  to  say  that  in  these  cases  the  sub- 
ject has  experienced  somewhere  else  in  life  some  situation  similar  to 
the  one  now  confronting  him  and  that  he  now  makes  use  of  some  of 
that  experience  in  this  case.  For  example,  a  subject  who  has  previously 
studied  physics  may  have  learned  the  principle  that  vertical  lines  are 
inverted  as  they  appear  in  a  mirror  but  not  horizontal  lines.  This 
princinle  mav  have  been  connected  ud  as  a  response  to  the  situation 
"mirror."  Now  when  confronted  with  the  mirror  in  this  experiment, 
the  mirror  detail  of  the  whole  situation  in  the  experiment  calls  to  mind 


LESSON   12  57 

the  physical  law.  The  law  then  becomes  an  added  detail  to  this  sub- 
ject's entire  situation.  He  acts  in  terms  not  only  of  the  situation  as 
other  subjects  perceive  it  but  also  in  terms  of  this  detail — the  physical 
law.  And  acting  in  terms  of  the  law  he  has  little  or  no  trouble  with  the 
vertical  and  horizontal  lines  in  the  experiment.  This  statement  must 
he  modified  somewhat,  however.  It  is  true  he  will  have  less  trouble 
than  the  average  individual  if  he  has  in  mind  the  physical  law.  But  he 
will  have  still  considerable  trouble,  unless  in  his  physics  course  or  some- 
where else  he  has  actually  drawn  objects  as  seen  in  a  mirror.  When 
one  must  make  a  new  movement  in  response  to  a  situation  one  can  only 
learn  to  make  it  by  doing  it  and  this  doing  involves  "trial  and  error." 
If  he  has  not  had  this  experience,  he  will  profit  by  knowing  the  law  be- 
cause he  will  much  more  quickly  check  the  wrong  movements  since  he 
will  have  a  guide  in  not  only  what  is  seen  but  also  in  what  is  felt  in  the 
hands.  Knowing  that  he  must  move  his  hands  away  from  him  in  going 
from  I  to  2,  he  will  feel  in  his  hands  that  he  is  going  wrong  as  soon 
as  he  moves  in  any  other  way. 

REFEKENCES:      ON  THE   MIRROR-DRAWING  EXPERIMENT 

D.  Starch,  A  Demonstration  of  the  Trial  and  Error  Method  in  Learn- 
ing.  Psychol.  Bull.,  Jan.  1910,  20-23. 

G.  M.  Whipple,  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests,  191 5,  Vol.  II, 
485-499. 

ON  THE  LEARNING  PROCESS 

Bryan  and  Harter,  Studies  in  the  Physiology  and  Psychology  of  the 
Telegraphic  Language.  Psychol.  Rev.  1897  and  1899,  IV.  27-35  and  VI. 

345-375- 

W.  F.  Book,  The  Psychology  of  Skill,  1908. 

H.  A.  Ruger,  The  Psychology  of  EMciency,  Archives  of  Psychology, 
No.  15, 1910.    Note  especially  pp.  36-39. 

Ladd  &  Woodworth,  Physiological  Psychology,  1911,  Part  II, 
Chapter  VIII. 

LESSON  13— HOW  DOES  ONE  LEARN  A  SPANISH-ENGLISH 

VOCABULARY? 

Is  the  learning  of  a  vocabulary  an  entirely  different  performance  from 
the  learning  of  handwriting?  Or  are  there  certain  parts  of  each  that 
are  more  or  less  similar?  What  are  the  processes  involved  in  memor- 
izing a  vocabulary?  Is  there  a  one  "best"  method  for  all  individuals 
or  are  there  different  methods  which  are  best  adapted  to  different  in- 
dividuals ? 

In  this  experiment  E  will  pronounce  a  Spanish  word  and  S  will  be 
expected  to  g^ve  the  English  equivalent.  If  he  can't  E  will  prompt 


58  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

him  and  a  little  later  try  him  again.  As  the  promptings  continue  S  will 
gradually  learn  the  vocabulary.  Devote  your  time  and  ingenuity  in 
this  experiment  to  discovering  how  S  learns  the  pairs  of  words.  In 
some  cases  S  will  frankly  not  know,  in  other  cases  he  will  say  the  sound 
suggested  the  English  word,  in  other  cases  he  will  have  other  answers. 
Endeavor  to  discover  as  accurately  as  possible  just  how  S  learned 
each  pair. 

A  few  students,  particularly  men,  take  an  inordinate  amount  of  time 
to  learn  their  vocabulary.  Yet  if  there  were  a  thousand  dollars  at 
stake  they  could  do  the  task  in  a  few  minutes.  Do  not  allow  a  wrong 
attitude  to  interfere  with  your  work.  Get  it  done  quickly. 

THE    EXPERIMENT 

Problem :     How  does  one  learn  a  Spanish-English  vocabulary.^ 
Apparatus.    E  receives  from  the  instructor  a  list  of  25  Spanish- Eng- 
lish words,  which  S  is  to  commit  to  memory.  (If  S  knows  Spanish  E 
should  report  this  fact  to  the  instructor  and  secure  a  vocabulary  in 
some  other  language.) 

Procedure,  (i)  E  prepares  a  tally  sheet  similar  to  the  model 
(Plate  V)  and  fills  in  the  list  of  Spanish  and  English  words  to  be 
learned. 

(2)  E  supplies  S  with  a  list  of  the  Spanish  words  (but  not  the 
English  words)  which  S  will  keep  before  him  as  his  prompting  list. 

(3)  Trial  i.  E  will  read  aloud  to  S  the  Spanish  words  and  their 
English  equivalents  at  the  approximate  rate  of  one  pair  every  three 
seconds.  S  will  follow  with  his  eyes  the  Spanish  words  on  his  list 
during  the  reading  and  will  endeavor  to  memorize  the  pairs  as  they 
are  read.    He  will  not  write  down  the  English  words. 

This  first  trial  has,  of  course,  25  promptings  since  E  read  to  S  each 
Spanish  word  and  its  English  equivalent.  Accordingly  record  an  "x"  in 
column  one  of  the  tally  sheet  opposite  each  of  the  25  pairs  of  words. 

(4)  Trial  2.  S  pronounces  the  first  Spanish  word  on  his  list  and 
attempts  to  give  its  EngHsh  equivalent,  (a)  If  he  succeeds,  then  stop 
until  you  have  written  down  S's  explanation  of  how  he  came  to  connect 
the  Spanish  and  English  words  together.  Record  these  observations  in 
detail  because  they  are  the  results  you  are  especially  interested  in  ob- 
taining in  this  experiment.  When  this  is  done  S  pronounces  the  sec- 
ond Spanish  word  and  attempts  to  give  its  English  equivalent.  Etc. 

(b)  If  S  gives  an  incorrect  English  word,  write  that  word  in  column 
2  opposite  the  appropriate  Spanish  word.  Prompt  S  as  to  what  the 
correct  English  word  is.  Then  have  S  pronounce  the  second  Spanish 
word  and  attempt  to  give  its  English  equivalent.  Etc. 


LESSON   13 


59 


K*^ 


f*i*i  nf^htr 


444    trr»r>  «««c   »^  a  -n  I**" 


»|  fffnffiH^i    lis 


Fff 


Plate  Y.   Showing  blank  to  be  used  by  E  for 
recording  promptings  &nd  mistakes.    (The 
blank  should  be  &^  inohea  wide,   allowing 
1^  Inohes  for  eaoh  of  the  forst  two  coltmms 
and  ■§•  inch  for  the  next  eleven  columns.) 

(c)  If  S  makes  no  reply  within  5  seconds  after  pronouncing  the 
Spanish  word,  mark  an  "x"  in  column  2  opposite  the  appropriate 
Spanish  word  and  then  prompt  S  as  to  the  correct  English  word.  S 
pronounces  the  second  Spanish  word  and  so  continues. 

Repeat  the  above  procedure  with  each  Spanish  word  in  the  list.  In 
this  way  you  ascertain  whether  S  has  learned  the  English  equivalent 
for  any  of  the  Spanish  words  after  one  prompting  (your  first  read- 
ing) ,  and  if  so,  how  he  learned  it.  And  furthermore,  you  have  a  record 
of  (a)  How  many  English  equivalents  were  given  correctly;  (b)  How 
many  were  given  incorrectly;  (c)  In  how  many  cases  no  reply  was 
made. 

(5)  Trial  3.  Repeat  the  above  procedure  for  trial  3.  Continue  with 
trial  after  trial  until  S  can  give  correctly  the  English  equivalent  to 
each  of  the  25  Spanish  words  without  error  and  without  waiting  more 
than  5  seconds  in  any  case. 

(6)  If  you  still  have  time  try  this  additional  experiment.  After  S 
has  recited  the  Spanish-English  pairs  correctly,  have  him  start  at  the 
bottom  of  the  list  and  call  out  the  English  equivalents  as  before,  reading 
up  the  list  instead  of  down.  Continue  until  S  can  recite  the  list  cor- 
rectly. What  additional  light  does  this  experiment  throw  on  the  whole 
problem  of  learning  a  vocabulary? 

Results,  (i)  Count  up  the  number  of  promptings  (the  number  of 
"x's"  plus  the  number  of  English  words  which  were  incorrectly  given 


6o  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR   TEACHERS 

in  each  column)  and  record  the  totals  at  the  bottom  of  each  column,  as 
has  been  done  in  the  model  blank.  Plot  a  prompting-curve. 

(2)  Record  all  the  facts  you  have  marshalled  as  to  how  one  learns 
a  vocabulary. 

Interpretation.  Answer  the  following  questions  and  give  any  other 
conclusions  of  interest  here. 

( 1 )  How  does  the  learning  curve  based  on  promptings  compare 
with  the  learning  curves  obtained  in  learning  the  alphabet  and  mirror- 
drawing? 

(2)  In  what  different  ways  did  S  learn  the  Spanish-English  pairs 
of  words?  What  seem  to  be  the  general  laws  underlying  such  learn- 
ing? Are  these  laws  similar  to  or  different  from  those  related  to 
learning  mirror-drawing? 

Application.  How  might  these  methods  be  cultivated?  Where  else 
could  the  same  methods  be  utilized  ? 

Hand  in  your  write-up  of  this  experiment  at  the  next  class-hour. 


LESSON  14— THE  LEARNING  PROCESS  INVOLVED  IN  COM- 
MITTING TO  MEMORY  A  VOCABULARY* 

A  foreign  word  may  become  associated  with  an  English  word  in  two 
different  ways.  It  may  be  learned  thru  simple  repetition,  or  it  may  be 
learned  thru  the  intermediation  of  one  or  more  steps.  Take  the  case 
of  the  German  word  "hund"  and  its  English  equivalent  "dog."  Some 
individuals  will  come  to  know  that  "hund"  means  "dog"  by  simple 
repetition  of  the  two  words  together.  Other  individuals,  when  con- 
fronted with  "hund,"  will  think  "hound"  and  then  "dog".  When  the 
intermediate  step  is  employed  the  combination  "hund-dog"  may  be 
learned  with  one  repetition  and  may  then  function  satisfactorily  thru- 
out  life.  When  the  purely  repetitive  method  is  employed  the  combina- 
tion may  only  be  learned  after  a  number  of  repetitions  and  even  then 
may  not  function  a  few  days  later. 

Consider  a  second  illustration.  The  Chinese  symbol  :^  stands  for 
"a  well  of  water."  If  one  were  engaged  in  committing  a  Chinese-Eng- 
lish vocabulary,  particularly  at  the  commencement  of  the  course  in 
Chinese,  it  is  most  likely  that  the  combination  would  be  learned  ac- 
cording to  the  first  method  indicated  above — thru  sheer  repetition  of 
the  two  together.    However,  if  one  was  instructed  by  his  teacher,  that 

and  that  the  four 
and  also  that  the 
small  c  1  u  s  t  e  r 
then  it  is  quite 
simple    instruction 


the  symbol  #  was  derived  originally  from 
outside  lines  had  been  gradually  dropped, 
original  symbol  stood  pictorially  for  a 
about  a  common  well, 
that   one   would   need   but 


of  houses  n  D  n 
likely  a  Qa 
(this  one    odd 

"#— vvell."='^* 


this 


repetition)  in  order  to  retain  for  life  the  combination 


••The  above  explanation  of  the  symbols  is  not  technically  correct  but  it  is  the  con- 
ception that  Miss  Annie  E.  Bradshaw  used  in  learning  the  symbol.  The  correct  explana- 
tion is  reoorrled  here  as  given  by  ^■r.  C  \V  Luh.  It  i  of  intere:;!  in  thi-;  connection,  as  it 
shows  how  thru  associations  a  term  obtains  new  meanings.  This  word,  "well,"  is  de- 
rived from  an  ancient  hyerograph.  The  square  in  the  middle  represents  the  mouth  of 
the  square  rail  of  the  well.      Around  it  are  walls  slanting  towards  the  ground.   The  rescm- 


•CLASS-HOUR 

IN    CLASS 

WRITE  UP 

READ 

13 

Discuss,    Lesson     13 
Experiment.    Les.    1 5 

Lesson    1 3 

lesson     1 4 

6i 


I  \ 


62  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

LEARNING  THRU  SHEER  REPETITION  (Rote  Memory) 
Consider  the  fundamental  process  involved  in  learning  "hund-dog' 
thru  sheer  repetition.  We  start  with  the  abilities : — 

(i)  to  pronounce  "hund"  when  we  see  the  printed  word  "hund," 

(2)  to  pronounce  "dog"  when  we  see  the  printed  word  "dog," 

(3)  to  call  to  mind  a  considerable  number  of  words  after  seeing 
the  word  "dog,"  such  as,  "Toby,"  "animal,"  "four-legs,"  "white," 
"black,"  "yellow,"  "cur,"  etc.  All  of  these  latter  combinations 
have  been  developed  thru  experience  and  go  to  make  up  as  a 
complex  whole  our  complex  thought  "dog."  It  is  quite  likely  when 
we  see  the  word  "dog"  and  say  "dog,"  that  there  is  a  more  or  less 
simultaneous  commencement  of  the  processes  to  say  many  or  all  of 
the  others  also. 

Such  abilities  do  not  impress  us  as  adults.  But  if  we  stop  to  think 
a  moment  we  realize  that  small  children  can  not  do  these  seemingly 
simple  things;  hence,  we  must  have  learned  them  at  some  time. 

It  may  be  that  we  have  never  pronounced  "hund"  after  seeing  the 
word.  But  we  are  able  to  do  so  because  of  the  existence  of  still  simpler 
abilities  which  we  possess,  namely : — 

(i)  to  pronounce  "h"  when  we  see  the  letter  "h," 

(2)  to  pronounce  "und"  when  we  see  the  letters  "und," 

(3)  to  connect  up  the  two  sounds  into  one  word,  i.  e.,  "hund." 
The  more  we  fall  back  upon  these  simpler  abilities  when  attempting  to 
pronounce  "hund"  the  first  time  the  more  slowly  and  with  the  more 
hesitancy  will  we  pronounce  the  word,  coupled  with  an  increase  in 
speed  and  confidence  with  successive  trials.  That  this  point  may  be 
better  appreciated,  watch  yourself  master  the  pronunciation  of  the  fol- 
lowing words :  "handworterbuch,"  equilibrating,"  "concaturating." 
(This  type  of  learning  is  similar  to  learning  the  alphabet  backwards, 
type  2a  of  Lesson  9.) 

Having  disposed  of  the  problem  of  pronouncing  "hund"  when  we  see 
the  printed  word  "hund,"  let  us  restate  what  we  have  to  start  with 
in  the  form  of  a  diagram. 

blance  is  more  remarkable  when  we  write  the  word  in  an  older  style,  like 
The  "well  system."  During  the  Dynasty  of  West  Chau  (1122-769  B.  C.) 
the  land  tax  was  paid  in  community  labor.  Each  square  (about  Vii  sq.  mi.) 
was  divided  into  nine  allotments,  like  .  The  middle  square  was 
public  land,  the  products  of  which  sup  .  i  I  i  ported  the  central  gov- 
ernment.      Eight   families   were  assigned to   the   farmsteads   around 

it,   and   they   worked  on   it    as     they    did,  their     own     farms.        The 

arrangement    of    the     farms,     with    theirl  ~        fences        and        pathways 

looks   just   like   the  word#.   So   we  have     " — '— ' — '      come  to  call  it  the  "well  system." 

"For  a   time,    it   was   a     very     effective  method,     and     the     management     sf 

these   farms   became  a   byword    for  order  and     cleanliness.       So    the    word     # 

became  an  adjective.      In  rhetoric  we  double  it(##)      and      this      means      Very 
orderly.'  " 


LESSON     14 


63 


SITUATION 
(i)     seeing  "hund" 
(2)         "       "dog" 

(3)      "     "dqfe" 

(4)         "       "dog" 


RESPONSE 
pronouncing  "hund" 

"dog" 
thinking       "Toby" 
"  "animal" 


etc. 


The  problem  is  to  connect  the  situation  (seeing  word  "hund")  with  the 
existing  responses  to  "seeing  dog,"  i.  e.,  to  connect  with  the  first  situa- 
tion in  the  above  table  the  responses  to  the  second,  third,  fourth,  etc., 
situations.  In  terms  of  a  diagram  the  problem  is  to  develop  the  dotted 
line  below : — 
SITUATION  RESPONSE        SECONDARY  RESPONSE 


seeing  "hund*"-?;;;;^ 
seeing  "dog"  


->pronouncmg 
^pronouncing 


'hund 

'do 


thinking  "Toby" 
thinking  "animal" 
thinking  "cur" 
etc. 

It  is  apparent  from  our  experience  in  the  experiment  of  Lesson  13 
that  a  new  connection  or  bond,  such  as  indicated  by  the  dotted  line 
above,  can  be  developed  by  mere  repetition.  Expressed  in  a  more 
general  way  we  have : — 

Situation  i  -sr;^^;; >  Response  i 

Situation  2  ""^  '^^  Response  2 

with  the  generalization  that  repetition  of  Si — Ri  and  S2 — R2  results 
in  the  formation  of  a  new  bond  Si — R2. 

One  of  the  classical  experiments  illustrating  this  law  was  per- 
formed by  the  Russian  psychologist,  Pavlov.  He  rigged  up  an  appa- 
ratus on  a  dog  to  measure  the  flow  of  saliva.  Then  he  showed  the  dog 
a  bone  and  at  the  same  time  gave  him  an  electrical  shock.  In  diag^a- 
matic  form: — 

1.  Electrical  shock  ■■      »  i.     Skin  withdrawn  from  contact. 

2.  Presence  of  bone-*— ^  2.     Increased  flow  of  saliva. 

After  a  number  of  such  repetitions,  the  bone  was  no  longer  shown  and 
It  was  found  that  the  saliva  flowed  in  response  to  the  electrical  shock 
just  as  it  had  originally  done  in  response  to  seeing  the  bone.  The  experi- 
ment thus  demonstrated  the  development  of  the  now  bond. 
Situation  i,  electrical  shock,  ^ 

"  '^Response  2,  srdiva  flows 


64  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

Some  corollaries  to  the  above  law. 

1.  If  one  recites  his  vocabulary  in  this  way: — 

seeing  "der"  saying  '"der"  saying  "the" 

"       "hund"  "        "hund"  "        "dog" 

"       "haus"  "        "haus"  "        "house"" 

etc., 
he  is  strengthening  not  only  the  new  bond  (the  dotted  line  in  the  dia- 
gram above)  but  also  the  bond  of  pronouncing  the  word  when  seen. 
If  he  learns  his  vocabulary  by  merely  looking  at  the  foreign  word  and 
pronouncing  its  English  equivalent,  thus: — 

seeing  "der"  saying  "the" 

"hund"  "        "dog" 

"haus"  "        "house 

he  is  strengthening  mainly,  if  not  entirely,  the  new  and  desired  com- 
bination. 

2.  But  even  such  a  procedure  does  not  lead  to  the  best  development 
of  one's  vocabulary.  It  leads  simply  to  the  connection  of  "hund"  with 
"dog."  If  one,  on  the  other  hand,  should  on  seeing  "hund"  say  "dog," 
then  "animal,"  "cur,"  "Toby,"  etc.,  he  would  give  to  the  foreign  word 
"hund"  the  meaning  that  attaches  to  its  English  equivalent  besides 
connecting  the  two  together. 

Professor  Gordon  has  demonstrated  this  in  an  experiment  when  one 
group  of  students  studied  an  Italian-English  vocabularly  made  up  of 
the  words  in  a  stanza  of  a  poem.  They  were  permitted  to  study  the 
Tocabulary  in  any  way  they  pleased  for  half  an  hour.  The  second  group 
spent  this  half  hour  as  follows: — (a)  the  poem  as  a  whole  was  ex- 
plained, (b)  a  close  translation  was  given  them,  (c)  the  poem  was 
read  in  Italian,  (d)  the  poem  was  read  in  Italian  and  translated  line 
by  line,  (e)  the  group  read  aloud  the  poem  in  Italian,  then  each  mem- 
ber of  the  group  did  so  and  gave  a  translation,  (f)  the  passage  was 
read  in  Italian  several  times.  Both  groups  were  tested  at  the  end  of  the 
half  hour  as  to  their  knowledge  of  the  vocabulary,  zdso  again  a  week 
later.    The  errors  made  by  the  two  groups  were: — 

Test  following  study,  Group  I, — 0.58  errors ;  Group  II, — 3.83 
Test  a  week  later.  Group  I, — 6.30  errors;  Group  II, — 3.50 
"Thus  the  words  learned  in  lists  have  the  advantage  at  first  but  lose 
it  later.  In  addition  to  a  more  permanent  learning  of  the  individual 
words,  the  second  grou]:>  were  able  to  recite  the  poem  very  creditably.* 
All  those  who  have  studied  a  foreign  language  have  realized  the  force 
of  the  conclusion  in  this  experiment.  Foreign  words  learned  as  a  part 
of  a  vocabulary  are  not  learned  in  the  same  way  as  the  same  words 


•Kate   Cordoru    Educational    Psychology,    1917,   pp.    173-176. 


LESSON     14  65 

what  learned  during  reading.  The  word  may  be  known,  for  example,  in 
the  vocabulary  but  not  understood  in  the  text.  There  are  a  number 
of  reasons  for  this  besides  the  one  suggested  above,  but  let  us  consider 
it  alone  here.  The  foreign  word  has  been  connected  in  the  vocabulary 
lesson  with  an  English  equivalent,  but  it  has  not  necessarily  been  con- 
nected with  the  g^eat  wealth  of  meaning  that  the  English  word  carries 
with  it.  The  foreign  word  may  call  to  mind  the  English  word  but  the 
English  word  called  to  mind  may  not  then  call  to  mind  its  meaning  since 
the  foreign  word  is  the  situation  to  which  we  are  primarily  reacting,  not 
the  English  equivalent.  Under  such  a  condition  of  affairs  two  steps 
are  necessary  before  we  can  use  the  foreign  word  in  the  translation, 
(i)  think  its  English  equivalent,  (2)  think  the  English  word's  mean- 
ings. If  the  foreign  word  had  been  linked  up  originally  not  merely 
with  its  English  equivalent,  but  also  with  that  word's  meaning^  this 
trouble  would  not  have  arisen.  The  difference  between  learning  the 
meaning  of  foreign  words  in  vocabularies  and  in  actual  reading  comes 
down  very  largely  to  the  psychological  diflference,  in  the  first  case  of 
merely  connecting  the  foreign  word  with  an  English  equivalent,  and 
in  the  second  case,  of  connecting  the  foreign  word  with  the  English 
word's  equivalent.  Meaning  can  then  be  thought  of  as  made  up  of  the 
bonds  that  are  attached  to  a  word.  The  meaning  of  "parag^ph,"  or 
"parallax,"  or  "parallel"  for  any  person  is  the  sum  total  of  ideas 
(bonds)  that  these  words  arouse. 

All  of  this  applies  to  teaching  the  use  of  new  words.  "Condensation." 
"evaporation,"  "expansion,"  "protective  coloring,"  can  be  taught  so 
that  the  only  response  is  a  series  of  words  (a  definition)  or  they  can  be 
taught  so  that  a  whole  series  of  ideas  follows  requiring  the  writing  of  a 
paragraph  to  express  adequately  the  idea.  I^emonstrations,  experiments, 
discussions,  etc.,  help  here,  as  contrasted  with  the  mere  use  of  a  text- 
book. 
LEARNING  THRU  AN  INTERMEDIATE  ASSOCIATION  (Associative  Shifting) 

Having  considered  at  some  length  the  process  of  learning  a  German- 
English  pair  of  words  thru  sheer  repetition,  let  us  now  consider  the 
process  when  the  two  words  are  learned  thru  the  use  of  an  interme- 
diate thought,  e.  g..  "hund-hound-dog."  Here  again  we  have  the  same 
situation-response  combinations  to  start  with  as  before,  i.  e. : — 
SITUATION  RESPONSE 

(i)     seeing  bund  >  pronouncing  hund 

(2)  "       dog >  "  dog 

(3)  "        •*  >  thinking    Toby 

(4)  "       "  >  "  animal 

etc. 


66  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

But  it  is  evident,  in  that  the  individual  went  from  "hiind"  to  "hound," 
that  there  was  also  the  situation  (seeing  "hund") — response  (saying 
■"hound").  In  like  manner  there  was  also  the  situation  (saying  "hound") 
— response  (saying  "dog").  There  is  no  difficulty  attaching  to  this 
second  additional  situation-response  combination.  But  there  is  in  the 
first  case.  Why  did  "hund"  call  up  "hound?"  They  have  never  been 
together  before.  Can  a  situation  call  up  a  new  response  of  its  own  ac- 
cord with  no  previous  connection  between  them?  Yes  and  no.  Cer- 
tainly not  if  there  has  been  no  previous  connection  between  them. 
"Hund"  would  never  call  up  "liez,"  or  "star"  for  example.  But  in  this 
■case,  altho  the  total  situation  (seeing  "hund")  and  the  total  response 
(saying  "hound")  have  never  been  together  before,  there  are  parts  of 
the  situation  which  have  been  together  with  parts  of  the  response. 
The  letters  "h-und"  in  "hund"  have  been  together  and  in  the  same 
order  in  "hound."  Those  individuals  who  saw  the  connection  between 
"hund"  and  "hound"  did  so  in  terms  of  these  common  details  in  the 
total  situation  and  the  response  (hound).  But  some  individuals  did  not 
see  the  connection  at  first,  they  discovered  it  after  pronouncing  "hund." 
Pronouncing  "hund"  became  the  situation  which  called  to  mind  the 
English  word  "hound."  And  here  again  the  details — sound  of  "h"  and 
"nd"  in  "hund"  and  in  "hound"  have  been  together  so  that  emphasis 
upon  "h-nd"  could  easily  lead  to  "hound,"  in  fact  more  easily  than  to 
"hund,"  because  "hound"  is  a  more  familiar  word  than  "hund." 

We  may  then  explain  the  cause  of  these  individuals  thinking  "hund- 
hound-dog"  by  stating  that  they  reacted  not  only  to  hund  as  a  whole 
situation,  but  to  the  details  of  that  situation,  and  that  the  reaction  to  the 
details  gave  them  a  response  which  was  already  linked  up  with  the 
final  response  they  desired.  This  process  of  reacting  to  a  situation  in 
terms  of  some  of  its  parts  comes  under  the  Laiv  of  Partial  Identity. 
When  we  have  no  bond  between  the  situation  and  a  response  (or  often  a 
very  weak  bond)  we  are  quite  likely  to  respond  to  the  situation  in  terms 
of  certain  of  its  parts  to  which  we  already  have  a  strong  bond.  In  this 
case  the  bond  between  "hund"  and  "dog"  did  not  exist  or  was  very 
weak  from  only  one  or  two  repetitions.  We  consequently  reacted  in 
terms  of  the  details  "h-und"  instead  of  "hund"  and  thought  "hound" — 
the  nearest  response  to  "h-und." 

There  is  still  another  factor  to  be  considered.  The  Law  of  Partial 
Identity  explains  why  the  intermediate  word  "hound"  should  come  to 
mind.  But  in  terms  of  this  law  one  would  expect  also  to  be  reminded  of 
such  words  as  "hand"  or  "hind"  as  well  as  "hound."  A  careful  analysis 
of  what  takes  place  in  learning  a  vocabulary  will  reveal  that  many  ir- 


LESSON     14  <^»7 

relevant  words  do  flash  thru  the  mind.  But  one  "dismisses"  them  im- 
mediately, whereas  one  "holds  on"  to  relevant  words.  Moreover,  far 
more  relevant  words  come  to  mind  than  irrelevant  words.  Altho  the 
chances  should  be  very  decidedly  against  the  relevant  word,  we  shall 
have  to  explain  this  phenomenon  on  the  basis  that  not  only  does  the 
word  "hund"  call  up  "hound"  and  other  similar  words,  but  the  word 
"dog"  also  calls  up  words  associated  with  it  directly  or  thru  partial 
identity.  As  the  word  "hound"  is  brought  to  mind  by  both  "hund"  and 
"dog"  and  words  like  "hand"  or  "hind"  or  "animal"  or  "Toby"  are 
brought  to  mind  by  only  one  of  the  two  words,  the  word  "hound"  is  far 
more  likely  to  come  into  consciousness  than  any  of  the  other  words. 
This  is  an  example  of  what  is  known  technically  as  the  summation  of 
stimuli.  A  reaction  is  more  likely  to  be  made  in  response  to  two  stimuli 
than  to  only  one.  One  may  ignore  one  ticklish  sensation  but  respond 
violently  to  two. 

ROTE    MEMORY    VERSUS    ASSOCIATIVE    SHIFTING 

Now  the  essential  difference  between  the  person  who  learned  that 
"himd"  means  "dog"  by  sheer  repetition  and  the  one  who  learned  that 
"hund"  meant  "dog"  thru  the  intermediary  "hound"  lies  in  the  fact 
that  the  former  developed  a  new  bond,  whereas  the  latter  utilized  bonds 
already  in  existence.  And  since  they  were  already  in  existence  one 
repetition  of  the  whole  was  sufficient  to  make  it  function  efficiently, 
whereas  in  the  former  case  possibly  several  repetitions  were  necessary. 

When  a  new  bond  is  thus  formed,  we  speak  of  the  process  as  rote 
memory,  whereas  when  already  developed  bonds  are  utilized  in  linking 
the  situation  with  a  new  response,  we  speak  of  the  process  as  associa- 
tive shifting.  The  former  is  the  simpler  method  and  undoubtedly  tlie 
more  primitive,  the  latter  is  characteristic  of  some  of  the  learning  hu- 
man beings  are  capable  of  as  distinguished  from  what  animals  can  do. 
In  early  life  much  learning  is  by  rote  memory.  That  is  one  reason  we 
commit  to  memory  so  much  material  while  still  children.  In  later  life, 
having  now  many  bonds,  we  can  learn  thru  using  the  old  bonds  rather 
than  by  developing  new  ones.  We  get  the  thought  but  not  the  phrase- 
ology.   But  even  then  much  new  material  has  to  be  learned  by  rote. 

USE  OF   MNEMONIC  DEVICES   IN   MEMORIZING 

Many  attempts  have  been  made  to  develop  artificial  schemes  b> 
which  one  could  substitute  associative  shifting  for  rote  memory.  And 
one  or  two  such  systems  are  constantly  being  advertised  as  panaceas 
for  all  our  difficulties  in  memorizing  names  and  faces  and  dates,  etc. 
Here  and  there  are  persons  who  can  utilize  such  mnemonic  devices  hut 
witli  most  persons  it  is  as  difficult  to  manipulate  the  scheme  as  to  learn 


68  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

(he  material  outright.  Whether  one  will  be  able  to  substitute  assodati've 
shifting  for  rote  memory  depends  on  the  individual  himself  almost  en- 
tirely. In  some  cases  he  can  utilize  the  steps  employed  by  another,  as 
in  the  case  of  learning-  the  Chinese  symbol  for  "well,"  but  ordinarily  if 
he  does  not  originate  the  steps  himself  they  are  of  little  or  no  value. 
THE  EFFECT  OF  POSITION  UPON  LEARNING 

The  first  and  last  two  or  three  pairs  of  words  were  learned  much 
more  quickly  than  the  pairs  in  the  middle  of  the  list  of  twenty-five.  This 
is  a  common  occurrence  under  such  conditions.  Apparently  in  learning 
a  vocabulary,  for  example,  such  as : — 

faire  —  do 

chien  —  dog 

mouche       —  fly 

pied  —  foot 

we  not  only  respond  with  the  word  "do"  to  the  situation  "faire"  but 
also  to  the  situation  "first  word  in  the  list."  Likewise  in  the  case  of 
"chien — dog"  we  not  only  pronounce  the  word  "dog"  in  response  to 
the  situation  "chien"  but  to  the  situation  "second  word  in  the  list"  and 
very  likely  also  in  such  a  case  to  the  situation  "do,"  since  "dog"  is  so 
similar  to  "do."  It  is  apparent  that  these  "position"  situations  aid  us 
materially  in  committing  a  vocabulary  to  memory  but  later  on  when 
"faire"  Is  met  in  a  French  story  it  may  not  be  reacted  to  because  the 
element  "first  word  in  a  vocabulary"  is  missing.  Learnmg  items  in 
terms  of  "position"  is  a  risky  performance  if  the  itenis  are  to  be  met 
^ing'y  later  in  life. 

THE    PROMPTING    METHOD 

What  we  want  in  life  is  to  be  able  to  give  the  English  equivalent  of 
the  foreign  word  when  it  is  encountered  (and  vice  versa).  Thru  the 
prompting  method  we  are  drilled  in  reacting  to  the  single  words  just  as 
we  shall  wish  to  do  later  in  life.  For  that  reason  it  is  superior  to  other 
methods  of  learning  vocabularies  in  which  we  are  drilled  to  react  more 
or  less  differently  from  the  way  we  need  to  respond.  The  best  method 
of  memorizing  a  vocabulary  is  to  prepare  small  slips  of  paper.  On  one 
side  write  the  English  term  and  on  the  other  side  the  foreign  equiva- 
lent. In  studying  the  vocabulary  pick  up  the  slip  of  paper,  read  off  the 
term  on  one  side  and  recall  its  equivalent.  If  this  can  not  be  done,  turn 
the  paper  over  and  repeat  the  two  terms  several  times  together.  After 
thus  going  thru  the  list,  shuffle  the  slips  of  paper  and  repeat  the  proc- 
ess. In  this  way  the  "prompting  method"  can  be  used  by  one  person 
vand  all  associations  with  position  are  eliminated. 


LESSON  15— WHAT  ARE  THE  LAWS  OF  RETENTION? 

We  have  all  had  the  experience  of  not  being  able  to  remember  a 
fact  or  do  a  certain  stunt  which  we  have  been  able  to  do  previously.  We 
say  we  have  forgotten.  Let  us  look  into  this  matter  of  forgetting  and 
see  of  what  it  consists. 

In  Lesson  5  the  alphabet  was  repeated  forwards  ten  times  and  back- 
wards ten  times  and  in  Lesson  13  a  vocabulary  of  25  Spanish-English 
words  was  memorized.  These  two  experiments  will  now  be  repeated 
in  order  to  discover  how  much  has  been  retained  and  how  much  has 
been  forgotten.  (Obviously,  if  S  practices  before  coming  to  class  the 
experiment  will  be  ruined.) 

A  third  experiment  is  concerned  with  the  extent  to  which  we  are 
able  to  retain  what  has  been  presented  to  us  for  a  very  short  interval 
of  time. 

( Do  not  get  excited  because  there  are  three  experiments  to  do.  They 
will  not  take  very  long.  If  necessary  you  can  easily  do  the  third  experi- 
ment outside  of  class  upon  some  friend.) 

EXPERIMENT    I.         TO  WHAT  EXTENT  DOES  ONE  RETAIN  DURING  A  PERIOD 

OF  TWO  AND  A  HALE  WEEKS?      SHOWN   IN  RELEARNING 

THE  ALPHABET. 

Apparatus.    Watch  with  second-hand. 

Procedure.  Have  S  (the  same  individual  who  was  S  in  the  Alphabet 
experiment  in  Lesson  5)  repeat  the  alphabet  (i)  forwards  and  (2) 
backwards  ten  times  each.    Record  the  time  for  each  trial. 

Results.  Plot  on  one  sheet  of  co-ordinate  paper  (i)  the  curve  of 
learning  the  alphabet  forwards  and  (2)  backwards  as  obtained  in  Les- 
son 5  and  (3)  the  curve  of  releaming  the  alphabet  forwards  and  (4) 
backwards  as  obtained  here.  (The  results  should  be  worked  up  after 
completing  the  next  experiment.) 

EXPy-RIMENT   II.      TO  WHAT  EXTEN'T  U(>r.S  (1XE   RKTAIX   DURIXG   A   PERIOD 

OE  HALF  A  WEEK?     SHOWN  IN  RELEARNING  A 

VOCABULARY. 

Apparatus.    The  same  Spanish-English  vocabulary  used  in  Lesson  13. 

Procedure.  Use  here  the  same  S  as  in  Lesson  13.  E  prepares  another 
blank  similar  to  the  model  in  Lesson  13  and  writes  in  the  25  Spanish 
and  English  words.  He  supplies  S  with  a  list  of  the  25  Spanish  words. 
There  will  be  no  initial  reading  of  the  vocabulary  to  S  as  was  done  in 
Lesson  13.  When  E  and  S  are  ready  S  will  commence  at  the  top  of  the 
list  of  Spanish  words  and  pronounce  the  first  Spanish  word  and  then 
attempt  to  give  the  English  equivalent.     ( i )   If  he  does  so,  E  says  noth- 

69 


70  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

ing  and  S  passes  to  the  second  pair  immediately  calling  out  the  Spanish 
word  and  giving  its  English  equivalent.  Etc.  (2)  If  S  gives  an  incor- 
rect English  word,  E  will  write  that  word  in  Column  I  opposite  the 
appropriate  Spanish  word,  and  prompt  S  as  to  what  the  correct 
English  word  is.  S  next  pronoimces  the  next  Spanish  word,  etc. 
(3)  If  S  makes  no  reply  within  5  seconds,  E  marks  an  "x"  in  Column 
I  opposite  the  Spanish  word,  and  prompts  S  as  to  the  correct  English 
word.    Then  S  pronounces  the  next  Spanish  word,  etc. 

Repeat  the  above  procedure  trial  after  trial  until  S  can  give  correctly 
the  English  equivalent  to  each  of  the  25  Spanish  words  without  error 
and  without  waiting  more  than  5  seconds  in  any  case. 

Results.  Plot  ( I )  the  curve  of  learning  the  vocabulary  as  obtained 
in  Lesson  13  and  (2)  the  curve  of  relearning  as  obtained  here. 

EXPERIMENT  III.  HOW  MANY  DIGITS  CAN  ONE  REPEAT  CORRECTLY  IM- 
MEDIATELY AFTER  HEARING  THEM.   (Memory  Span  Test.) 

Apparatus.    List  of  digits  given  below. 

Procedure.  Using  the  series  of  digits  given  below,  read  a  short 
series  to  S  at  the  rate  of  one  digit  per  second.  Take  the  utmost  care  to 
read  so  as  to  ensure  even  tempo,  dear  articulation,  and  entire  absence 
of  rhythm. 

While  E  is  reading  the  list  to  S  the  latter  should  keep  his  mouth 
closed  and  should  not  repeat  the  digits  to  himself.  Directly  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  series,  let  S  repeat  as  much  as  possible  of  what  has  just 
been  read  him.  (In  testing  young  children  E  should  record  in  writing 
S's  reproduction ;  with  older  individuals  it  is  advisable  to  have  S  write 
down  his  own  reproduction.  In  this  case  S  should  indicate  each  omission 
by  a  dash  or  a  blank  space,  thus  for  the  series,  9,  4,7>Z>  5»  8,  6,  the  reply 
is  9,  4,  7, — ,  8,  5,  6,  if  S  is  unable  to  remember  the  fourth  digit  and  has 
interchanged  the  fifth  and  sixth  digits.) 

After  having  read  a  short  series  to  S  and  having  obtained  his  cor- 
rect reproduction,  read  him  a  longer  series.  If  he  is  again  correct, 
read  the  next  longest,  and  continue  until  he  makes  errors.  Suppose  his 
first  error  is  with  a  series  of  seven  digits.  Then  secure  in  all  three  trials 
with  the  series  of  six  digits,  three  with  seven  digits,  and  three  with  eight 
digits.  In  other  words  discover  the  longest  series  that  S  can  repro- 
duce correctly  three  times,  also  the  shortest  series  that  S  cannot  re- 
produce correctly  at  all  in  three  trials,  as  well  as  three  trials  with  any 
series  of  intermediate  length. 

Credit  S  with  his  best  score,  i.  e.,  if  he  responded  correctly  to  all 
three  of  the  5's,  to  only  one  of  the  series  of  6's,  and  no  times  to  the 
series  of  7's ;  then  credit  him  with  a  memory  span  of  6.  A  correct  an- 
swer means  that  the  digits  are  not  only  all  repeated  but  they  are  re- 
peated in  the  original  order. 


LESSON     15 

MEMORY  SPAN  TEST 

2. 

7-3 

1-6 

8-S 

3- 

2-9-4 

8-3-7 

9-6-1 

4- 

5-1-8-3 

9-2-7-4 

7-8-2-6 

5- 

4-7-3-9-2 

6-4-1-8-3 

1-8-3-7-9 

6. 

8-5-1-7-3 

-9 

2-7-9-3-8-1 

9-4-1-7-3-8 

7- 

2-9-6-4-8-7-5 

9-2-8-5-1-6-4 

1-3-8-5-9-7-4 

8. 

4-7-2-9-3 

-8-1-6 

7-1-8-3-6-2-9-5 

4-6-1-5-8-2-9-7 

9- 

7-2-4-9-3 

-8-6-1-5 

4-7-5-2-9-3-6-1-8 

2-5-9-3-8-1-4-7-6 

lO. 

8-3-9-5-1 

-6-2-7-0-4 

4-7-0-2-5-1-9-3-8-6 

2-6-1-4-0-7-3-8-5-9 

71 


In  case  of  any  mistake,  additional  series  can  be  obtained  by  reading 
the  above  lists  of  digits  backwards.  In  retesting  an  individual  this 
should  be  done.  Let  each  partner  act  as  S  in  this  experiment,  if 
there  is  time. 

Results.    Record  the  memory  span  of  each  partner. 

Interpretation.  Answer  the  following  questions  based  on  the  three 
experiments. 

1.  How  much  do  you  calculate  S  forgot  during  the  interval  of  time 
between  the  first  and  second  alphabet  experiments?  between  the  two 
vocabulary  lessons? 

2.  On  the  basis  of  the  first  two  experiments  and  your  general  knowl- 
edge, do  you  think  that  a  person  who  had  studied  Latin  two  years 
would  ever  forget  the  first  conjugation?  Get  as  good  evidence  for  your 
view  as  you  can. 

3.  In  what  way  is  the  memory-span  test  related  to  the  two  experi- 
ments on  retention?  Explain.    In  what  ways  do  the  two  differ? 

4.  According  to  data  furnished  by  Dr.  Stiles*,  children  have 
memory-spans,  as  given  below.  In  the  second  and  fourth  columns  are 
given  the  average  memory-spans  for  boys  and  girls  and  in  the  third 
and  fifth  columns  are  given  the  memory-spans  that  the  poorest  child  of 
the  best  %  of  each  class  had.  The  data  are  based  on  records  from  751 
boys  and  834  girls. 


BOYS 

GIRLS 

Division  between 

Divisi 

3n  betweea 

Ag« 

.\verage 

best 

V4 

and 

.\verage 

best 

V4       and 

poorest  14. 

poorest  l/i. 

6 

5-3 

5 

5-5 

5 

f 

5.6 

5 

5.6 

5 

8 

6.3 

6 

6.1 

s 

9 

6.5 

6 

6.6 

6 

TO 

68 

6 

6.4 

6 

n 

6.6 

6 

6.9 

6 

12 

6.9 

6 

6.9 

6 

13 

6.9 

6 

7.2 

7 

14 

7.2 

6 

7.1 

6 

IS 

7.2 

7 

7.2 

7 

16 

7-4 

7 

7-2 

7 

17 

7-5 

7 

7-7 

7 

*     C.   W.   Stiles,   Memory   Tests   of  School   Children,   U.   S.    Pub.    Health   Service,   Re- 
print No.   316.   Dec.   24.    1915. 


72  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

Dr.  Gates*  reports  the  following  distribution  for  163  college  students 
in  Visual  and  Auditory  Memory  Span.  (His  results  are  con- 
verted here  into  percentages,  i.  e.,  0%  of  college  students  have  a  mem- 
ory span  of  4  with  visually  presented  material,  1%  have  a  span  of  5, 
9%  of  6,  189&  of  7,  etc.) 


No.  of  Digits 

1     4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

Visual  Presentation 
Auditory  Presenjtation 

1     0 
1     0 

I 
7 

9 
14 

18 
18 

39 

35 

21 
18 

8 
6 

2 

I 

2 

I 

In  the  light  of  the  figures  in  these  two  tables  and  your  own  records 
what  do  you  suppose  is  the  relationship  between  proficiency  in  memory 
span  and  (i)  age,  (2)  general  intelligence? 

5.  Would  you  expect  as  good  school  work  from  a  child  of  12  years 
of  age  wiio  has  a  memory  span  of  5,  as  you  would  from  a  child  with  a 
memory  span  of  7?    Explain. 

6.  Would  knowing  the  memory  span  of  an  individual  help  you  at 
all  in  advising  him  as  to  the  kind  of  job  he  should  attempt  to  get? 
Consider  such  jobs  as  these  for  a  girl:  saleswoman  in  a  store,  cook, 
telephone  operator,  stenographer,  machine  operator,  milliner,  book- 
keeper, teacher. 

Write  up  these  three  experiments  following  the  regular  outline  and 
hand  in  at  the  next  class-hour.  Do  not  forget  the  heading  "A.ppli- 
cations." 


•A.  I.  Catee.  Tke  MooBQiiic  Spaa  for  Visual  and  Auditory  IMffito,  Jour.  Exper.  F«irelioI., 
Oc».    I9I«. 


LESSON   16.     RETENTION   (continued)* 

Tkc  swhictt  of  retention  has  to  do,  of  course,  with  the  permaoe«cy  of 
our  learning.  We  have  seen  that  in  learning  we  develop  a  new  bond 
between  a  Situation  and  its  Response.  We  are  here  interested  in  dis- 
covering whether  this  bond  remains  permanently  in  the  same  condition 
as  time  goes  on.  When  we  learned  the  alphabet  backwards  we  formed 
new  bonds,  for  example  between  N  and  M  and  between  U  and  T. 
After  an  interval  of  time  has  elapsed  will  these  bonds  function  in  the 
same  way  as  they  did  just  after  they  were  formed? 

Let  us  consider  the  data  from  a  subject  who  did  the  alphabet  ex- 
periment first  on  June  17  and  repeated  it  again  on  June  23.  This  S 
repeated  the  alphabet  twenty  times  instead  of  only  ten  times.  His  data 
are  as  follows: 

Time,  June  17 

26.0    Sec. 

22.0   Sec. 

22.0    Sec. 

18.8    Sec. 

17.8    Sec. 

19.8    Sec. 

19.0    Sec. 

18.8    Sec. 

26.4    Sec. 

28-4    Sec. 

16.0    Sec. 

16.0    Sec. 

16.4    Sec. 

12.4    Sec. 

1 1 .8    Sec. 

14.4    Sec. 

9.6    Sec. 

144    Sec. 

1 1 .4    Sec. 

11.4  Sec. 
His  Ust  trial  on  June  17  required  11.4  seconds  and  the  first  trial 
six  days  lata-  took  17.2  seconds.  We  can  say  then  that  he  has  forgotten 
this  performance  to  the  extent  of  5.8  seconds  (17.2 — 11.4)-  f*>ut  this 
does  not  mean  that  he  has  lost  all  that  was  gained  from  the  twenty 
trials.  If  all  had  been  lost  it  would  have  taken  him  26  seconds  on  the 
first  trirf  cm  June  23rd,  as  it  took  him  that  long  on  the  first  trial  of 
June  17.  Clearly,  then,  atie  docs  lose  during  an  interval  of  time  pari  of 
■what  onr  was  able  to  do,  but  one  does  not  lose  all.    Or  looking  at  these 


Trials 
I 
2 

3 

4 

I 

7 

8 

9 
10 
It 
12 
IJ 
14 

;i 

17 
16 
19 
20 


Time, 

Juue  23 

17.2 

Sec. 

16.2 

Sec. 

17-3 

Sec. 

154 

Sec. 

II. I 

Sec. 

1 2.9 

Sec. 

lO.O 

Sec. 

10.0 

Sec. 

144 

Sec. 

9Ji 

Sec. 

is-i 

Sec. 

10.0 

Sec. 

lao 

Sec. 

9.2 

Sec. 

10.0 

Sec. 

lO.O 

Sec. 

8.2 

^^ec. 

8.2 

Sec. 

8.0 

Sec. 

9.0 

Sec. 

''GLASB-nOUR 

IN    CLASS 

WRFFE  UP 

READ 

16 
17 

Discuss,     Lesson     1 5 
Ejcperiment,    Les.    1 7 

Lesson     1 7 

Lesson     1  ( 

73 


74  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

data  in  another  way,  this  individual  on  his  eleventh  trial  on  June  17th 
beat  his  first  trial  on  June  23rd.  We  might  say  then  that  he  lost  the 
effect  of  10  trials  during  the  interval  of  six  days,  i.  e.,  the  effect  of  the 
nth  to  the  20th  trial.  But  on  the  other  hand  the  loth  trial  on  June 
23rd  (9.0  seconds)  beat  the  best  record  on  June  17  (9.6  seconds).  That 
is,  apparently  only  10  trials  were  needed  the  second  day  to  accom- 
plish what  was  not  accomplished  in  twenty  trials  on  the  first  day's 
practice. 

To  sum  up,  then,  this  individual  retained  during  the  six  days  the 
effect  of  the  first  ten  out  of  the  twenty  trials  or  an  increase  in  rate  of 
8.8  seconds  (26.0 — 17.2).  He  lost  the  effect  of  the  last  ten  trials  or  a 
decrease  in  rate  of  5.8  seconds  (17.2 — 11.4). 

As  for  the  relationship  between  what  one  loses  and  what  one  re- 
tains, that  is  found  to  be  dependent  on  several  factors,  the  chief  of 
which  is  obviously  the  amount  of  practice  which  entered  into  the  pre- 
vious learning.  Without  doubt  the  more  thoroughly  one  learns  a  thing 
originally  the  better  one  can  remember  it.  Hence  we  say  that  retention 
is  dependent  upon  amount  of  practice  or  that  retention  is  dependent 
upon  strength  of  the  bond. 

THE   EFFECT'   OF   TIME    INTERVAL    UPON    RETENTION 

The  results  outlined  above  are  characteristic  of  what  one  retains  and 
what  one  loses  during  an  interval  of  time.  If  the  interval  is  very  short, 
one  of  course  retains  proportionately  a  great  deal  of  what  he  has 
learned  and  one  loses  very  little.  If  on  the  other  hand,  the  interval  is 
very  long,  the  relationship  is  reversed. 

Now  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  longer  the  interval  of  time  the 
more  one  would  forget.  If  one  lost  10%  during  an  interval  of  an  hour, 
then  one  would  lose  20%  during  a  two- hour  interval,  or  30%  during 
a  three-hour  interval.  But  if  this  proportion  is  carried  further  one 
would  lose  100%,  or  all,  in  10  hours  and  110%  in  11  hours,  which  is,  of 
course,  impossible.  Apparently  this  is  not  the  correct  conception.  The 
rate  of  forgetting  is  not  proportional  to  the  time  that  has  elapsed.  It  is 
actually  very  rapid  during  the  first  few  minutes  and  becomes  less  and 
less  as  time  goes  on.  In  Plate  VI  are  given  two  retention  curves,  one 
worked  out  by  Ebbinghaus<'>  in  1885,  and  the  other  by  the  writer^^) 
in  1913. 

In  Table  I  are  ""iven  the  data  on  which  these  curves  are  based. 


(I)      H.  Cbbinghaus,  Ueber  das  Gedachtni"!,   Leipzig,    1885. 

<2)      E.  K.  Strong,  Jr.,  The     Effect     of     Time-Intenral     upon     Recognition     MetnotT. 
PBj'chol.     Rev..    Sept..     1913. 


LESSON     1 6 


75 


TABLE  I 

Per  cent.  Rjetained  After  Varying  Intervals  of  Time 
Interval  of  Time  Results  of  Ebbinghaus  Results  of  Strong 

15  Seconds  84-6% 

72.7 
6a.7 


5) 

Minutes 

15 

'* 

20 

30 

I 

Hour 

2 

'* 

4 
8 

« 

8.8" 

12 

I 
2 

4 
6 

Day 
Days 

7 

31 

42 

58.2% 

44-2 


35-8 

33-7 
27.8 

25-4 


9.6 


6.Z 

From  the  figures  of  Ebbinghaus  a  person  retains  approximately 
two-thirds  of  what  he  learned  after  20  minutes,  one-half  after  an  hour, 
one-third  after  9  hours,  and  but  one-fourth  after  2  days.  The  writer's 
figures  show  a  somewhat  greater  amount  retained  after  very  short  inter- 


Tirtint  Ht4*ntd 


Plat«  TI.  Sltowlag  •ff»et«  of  T«xio«8  lnt*r«&l«  •<  «»•  ■p«« 
9«t«&tloiu 
x»    X      TT    B«o&aa  wmaory  (SbbiBghas*) 
■«^^  coo    R«oognltloa  a«io]7« 


lHi**rli  »t  Tiimt 


3 


76  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

vals  of  time  and  a  somewhat  smaller  amount  after  long  intervals  of  time. 
But  the  principle  remains  the  same  in  both.  IVe  forget  very  rapidly  at 
first  and  then  more  and  more  sloiuly. 

Retention  of  Motor  Habits.  The  curves  of  retention  given  in  Plate 
VI  apply  to  the  retention  of  habits  that  have  been  developed  with 
relatively  few  repetitions.  When  we  turn  from  such  performances  to 
others,  such  as  dancing,  skating,  typewriting,  handwriting,  etc.,  we 
find  that  there  is  no  such  rapid  forgetting  as  these  curves  of  forgetting 
suggest.  After  one  has  once  learned  to  ride  a  bicycle  one  will  forget 
relatively  little  during  an  interval  of  years  in  which  the  bicycle  is  not 
touched.  In  such  a  case  a  person  has  not  only  learned  to  ride  a  bicycle 
but  he  has  ridden  it  time  after  time  until  the  habit  has  been,  as  we 
technically  say,  over-learm^d  enormously.  The  extent  to  which  we  re- 
tain a  habit,  whether  it  be  of  reciting  a  poem,  playing  a  piece  on  the 
piano,  or  tying  our  necktie  depends  then  (i)  on  the  interval  of  time 
since  we  la.st  practiced  the  habit,  and  (2)  on  the  extent  to  which  we 
practiced  the  habit  originally.  We  may  draw  the  moral  from  this  sec- 
tion that  learning  any  habit  to  the  extent  that  it  will  function  correctly 
means  that  we  know  it  at  that  time,  but  only  much  practice  over  and 
above  such  learning  will  insure  our  knowing  it  months  or  years  later. 

PHYSIOLOGICAL  BASIS   FOR  RETENTION 

The  term  "bond"  has  been  used  in  this  course  to  cover  the  nerve  con- 
nections involved  in  learning.  Later  on  certain  phases  of  the  nervous 
system  will  be  discussed.  At  present  only  one  new  conception  need  be 
considered.  It  is  that  a  nervous  current  encounters  resistance  in  flow- 
ing over  a  nerve ;  and  the  more  frequently  such  a  current  flows  over  a 
particular  nerve  the  less  the  resistance. 

A  habit  or  memory  is  today  conceived  of  as  due  primarily  to  the 
chemical  change  in  the  ner^re  connections  whereby  the  resistance  is 
lowered,  thus  permitting  the  nervous  current  to  flow  in  this  particular 
direction  rather  than  in  some  other  direction. 

Consider  the  analogy  in  Lesson  12  of  Q,  blindfolded,  learning  to  go 
in  a  certain  direction  over  a  snow-covered  field,  depending  first  on  sig- 
nals from  P  and  later  on  the  "feel"  of  the  path  he  has  previously  formed 
as  distinguished  from  the  untrodden  snow.  The  analogy  was  presented 
to  show  how  a  smoothly  running  habit  could  develop  from  mere  ran- 
dom movements.  We  can  liken  the  resistance  encountered  in  walking 
thru  the  snow  to  the  resistance  offered  to  a  nerve-current  by  a 
little  used  nerve.  And  we  can  liken  the  decreasing  resistance  en- 
countered as  the  path  develops  in  the  snow  to  the  decreasitig  resistance 
made  to  a  nerve  current  by  a  more  and  more  used  nerve.  At  first  it  makes 
no  difference  which  way  Q  travels  thru  the  snow,  the  resistance  is  equal 


LESSON  i6  ^^ 

in  all  directions.  Later  Q  can  travel  more  easily  along  the  path 
he  has  previously  formed  than  in  any  other  direction.  I.,ikewise  in  re- 
sponding to  a  new  situation  (e.  g.,  the  attempt  to  wag  the  ears)  the 
resistance  is  great  over  every  possible  pathway  and  there  results  either 
no  response  at  all  or  all  sorts  of  random  movements  (e.  g.,  frowning. 
winking,  twisting  the  mouth,  raising  the  scalp,  twitching  of  the  toes, 
etc.).  Later  the  situation  produces  the  one  response  (moving  the  ears) 
and  no  other,  because  the  resistance  over  the  nerves  connecting  situa- 
tion and  response  is  lower  than  any  other  pathway  from  the  situation 
to  any  other  response.  The  new  habit  is  dependent  on  the  relatively 
low  resistance  of  the  nerves  which  connect  situation  and  response  as 
compared  with  the  resistance  of  the  nerves  which  connect  the  situation 
Tvith  amy  other  response.  The  same  thing  is  equally  true  of  retention 
(of  memory).  In  fact,  retention  is  synonymous  with  lowered  resist- 
ance over  nerves.  The  resistance  is  lowered  by  use  and  increases  again 
thru  disuse. 

At  one  time  memory  was  thought  of  as  the  storing  of  nerve  cells, 
similar  to  storing  a  storage  room  with  supplies.  Such  a  conception 
is  false.  Memories,  or  habits,  are  nothing  more  or  less  than  expres- 
sions of  the  fact  that  certain  responses  will  now  follow  certain  situations 
because  of  low  resistance  of  the  nerves  comprising  the  bond. 

With  these  facts  before  us  we  can  readily  see  the  futility  of  suppos- 
ing that  a  "memory"  can  be  recalled  at  any  time.  A  "memory"  in  this 
sense  doesn't  exist.  All  that  actually  exists  is  a  system  of  nerves  with 
low  resistance.  If  the  former  situation  is  encountered  the  proper  re- 
sponse will  follow  because  of  this  low  resistance.  But  the  response 
(memory  or  habit)  will  never  appear  unless  the  original  situation  (or  a 
very  similar  situation,  compare  Law  of  Partial  Identity)  is  presented. 

RELEARNING 

It  is  clear  from  what  has  been  established  that  as  soon  as  practice  in 
learning  anything  ceases  one  commences  to  forget.  And,  moreover, 
that  one  will  forget  very  rapidly  at  first  and  then  more  and  more  slowly. 
We  should  expect  that  at  the  commencement  of  every  writing  lesson, 
every  music  lesson,  every  sort  of  lesson,  the  beginner  will  do  more 
poorly  than  he  did  at  the  end  of  the  previous  lesson.  The  first  few 
minutes  will  be  spent  in  relearning  what  has  been  lost  during  the  inter- 
val. It  is  a  common  observation  that  it  takes  a  few  minutes  in  which  to 
warm  up  to  a  subject.  Even  the  athlete  finds  this  to  be  the  case  in 
physical  work.  One  should  realize  then  that  he  cannot  do  his  best 
work  at  the  start,  and  not  get  discouraged  but  quietly  and  carefully 
go  OTcr  the  performance  a  number  of  times  until  he  has  releamed  what 
he  has  temporarily  lost.    Then  he  can  expect  to  be  doing  his  best  work 


j8  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

and  to  commence  trying  to  beat  his  previous  record — to  improve  his 
accuracy  and  his  sj^eed.  The  writer  has  found  this  to  be  very  true  in 
his  own  case  in  typewriting.  If  he  endeavors  to  go  at  full  speed  when 
he  begins  to  write  he  only  makes  mistakes  and  is  apt  to  continue  to 
make  more  mistakes  thruout  his  entire  period  of  work.  But  if  he  will 
content  himself  by  going  slow  for  a  few  minutes  at  the  start  he  can 
soon  go  ahead  at  full  speed  making  but  few  mistakes. 

( Some  writers  maintain  that  there  are  two  factors  involved  here — 
one  due  to  relearning  and  another  to  warming-up.  In  studying  the  rate 
at  which  individuals  work  in  all  sorts  of  industries  it  is  clear  that  they 
work  more  slowly  early  in  the  morning  than  later  in  the  day.  This 
phenomenon  affords  some  evidence  for  a  "wanning  up"  factor  related 
to  getting  started  going  in  the  day.  And  likewise  there  may  be  a 
similar  tendency  related  to  starting  working  at  any  particular  task, 
besides  that  involved  in  "relearning."  Very  often  we  do  not  feel  at 
all  in  the  mood,  as  we  say,  and  after  working  for  some  time  become 
deeply  interested  and  lost  in  the  work.  Possibly  this  change  is  due  to 
other  causes  than  relearning,  i.  e.,  bringing  the  bonds  which  are 
needed  for  our  work  back  up  to  their  highest  state  of  efficiency.  The 
writer,  however,  believes  that  the  term  "relearning"  covers  most,  if 
not  all  of  these  cases,  except  in  the  case  of  the  daily  warming-up 
phenomenon.) 

PRIMARY   AND   SECONDARY   RETENTION 

A  mental  process  continues  to  remain  in  consciousness  for  a  short 
interval  of  time.  For  example  I  look  up  a  telephone  number,  lay  down 
the  book,  put  the  receiver  to  my  ear,  and  after  hearing  from  central, 
say,  "Hemlock  2173-L."  Central  in  a  moment  replies  "Line  is  busy." 
I  hang  up  and  decide  to  wait  a  few  minutes  and  then  discover  the 
number  has  slip^Ded  from  my  mind.  The  retention  of  the  number 
from  the  time  it  was  seen  in  the  book  until  it  was  recited  to  central  is 
an  example  of  primary  retention.  The  number  was  really  at  no  mo- 
ment out  of  my  mind."  But  as  soon  as  it  had  been  given  to  central, 
it  was  dismissed.  Now  if  I  could  recall  it  to  mind  again,  as  I  can  my 
own  house  number,  that  would  be  a  case  of  secondary  retention  or 
recall.  The  laws  of  forgetting  so  far  discussed  refer  to  secondary 
retention,  a  term  which  covers  both  recall  and  recognition  memory. 
Primary  memory,  on  the  other  hand,  persists  for  but  a  few  seconds. 
That  it  seemingly  lasts  longer  is  due  to  the  fact  that  we  keep  re- 
peating the  contents  over  and  over  and  so  continue  its  existence  in 
consdousness. 

The  most  interesting  fact  concerning  primary  memory  is  given 
us  in  such  an  experiment  as  that  of  Memory  Span.     Here  is  meas- 


LRSSON    1 6  79 

ured  the  number  of  digits  that  can  be  retained  in  primary  memory. 
An  average  adult  can  so  hold  seven  digits.  Children  differ  from 
adults  in  this  respect.  A  two  to  three  year  old  can  retain  but  two 
digits.  A  little  later  the  child  can  repeat  three  digits.  And  so  as  he 
grows  older  he  acquires  a  greater  and  greater  ability  along  this  line. 
Defective  children  without  normal  mentality  often  show  marked  in- 
feriority in  their  memory  span.  A  child  of  twelve  years  of  age  with 
a  memory  span  of  four  is  most  likely  to  be  defective.  Recently  the 
writer  was  asked  to  help  a  young  woman  get  a  job.  She  was  about 
1 8  years  old  but  had  a  memory  span  of  four.  Other  tests  showed  her 
to  be  but  9  years  old  mentally.  The  failure  to  reach  adult  proficiency 
in  memory  span  would  shut  her  out  of  such  jobs  as  a  telephone  opera- 
tor or  stenographer,  for  in  both  these  occupations  there  is  decided 
need  for  primary  retention.  In  fact  her  low  memory  span  em- 
phasized the  uselessness  of  her  attempting  to  do  any  work  which  re- 
quired attention  upon  a  number  of  details  at  the  same  time.  Running 
a  simple  machine  or  selling  goods  in  a  5  and  10  Cent  Store  would  be 
as  complicated  tasks  as  she  could  do.  And  in  fact,  these  were  the  only 
jobs  this  young  woman  had  ever  been  able  to  hold  more  than  two  weeks. 
One  of  the  most  useful  tests  that  can  be  made  on  children  is  this 
one  of  the  memory  span.  When  poor  work  in  school  and  low  memory 
span  are  found  together,  it  is  quite  likely  to  mean  that  the  child  is 
dull  and  cannot  do  good  work.  When,  on  the  other  hand,  poor  work 
and  a  good  memory  span  are  found  together,  it  is  more  than  likely 
that  the  child  is  not  trying  sufficiently,  or  has  become  discouraged  in 
his  work  for  some  reason  or  other,  or  has  been  sick  and  absent  and 
missed  important  points  in  his  lessons.  One  cannot  diagnose  all  of  a 
child's  condition  with  this  test,  but  it  is  an  extremely  good  one  to 
start  with. 

METHODS  EMPLOYED  IN  STUDYING  RETENTION 

It  might  be  worth  while  to  digress  a  moment  and  consider  the 
methods  employed  in  the  two  investigations  quoted  above.  Ebbing- 
haus  made  up  lists  of  13  nonsense  syllables  (such  as,  neb,  pid,  raz,  tud, 
cor,  etc.)  He  memorized  seven  such  lists  one  after  the  other  to  the 
degree  that  he  could  recite  the  lists  once  correctly  from  memory.  He 
then  relearned  the  seven  lists  after  intervals  of  20  minutes,  i  hour,  8.8 
hours,  I  day,  2  days,  6  days  and  31  days.  He  kept  a  record  of  the 
number  of  repetitions  that  were  required  to  learn  a  list  originally  and 
then  relearn  it.  Supjx)se  he  required  10  repetitions  to  learn  a  list 
originally  and  after  two  days  he  required  7  repetitions  to  relearn  a 
list.  It  is  clear  that  he  has  saved  3  repetitions  (10-7)  and  has  lost  7 
repetitions  after  two  days  as  compared   with   his   original    learning. 


So  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

Dividing  th€  number  of  repetitions  which  he  has  saved  (3)  by  the 
number  of  repetitions  which  he  was  originally  required  to  make  in 
learning  the  list  (i.  e.,  10)  we  have  3-10,  or  30%,  as  the  amount  saved 
or  retained  after  an  interval  of  two  days.  (This  is  a  comparable  method 
to  that  discussed  on  l^ag'e  68,  of  Lesson  14,  and  is  techincally  known 
as  the  learning  and  saving  method.) 

In  the  case  of  the  writer's  investigation  he  employed  lists  of  twenty 
words.  S  read  the  list  thru  just  once.  Then  after  one  of  the  thirteen 
intervals  of  time  employed  (e.  g.,  15  seconds,  or  8  hours,  or  7  days) 
S  was  given  a  list  of  40  words  containing  the  original  20  words  and  20 
new  words  all  mixed  in  together.  S  was  required  to  go  thru  the  list 
and  mark  the  words  he  recognized  as  having  been  in  the  original  list. 
The  percent  recognized  gave  the  amount  retained.  (This  is  known 
as  the  recognition  method.) 

The  two  investigations  were  based  on  two  different  types  of  memory. 
In  the  case  of  Ebbinghaus'  work  S  had  to  recall  the  list.  In  the  case 
of  the  writer's  investigation  S  had  merely  to  recognise  the  words  he 
had  previously  seen,  to  distinguish  between  the  new  words  and  the  old 
words.  But  in  both  cases  the  extent  to  which  S  could  recall  or  recog- 
nize was  due  to  the  strength  of  the  bond  that  had  been  formed  during 
the  learning.  In  the  next  chapter  we  shall  take  up  the  matter  of  the 
strength  of  the  bond  and  consider  it  more  fully. 

SUMMARY 

The  principal  points  considered  in  the  lesson  arc: 
(i)   Retention  is  dependent  on   (a)   the  strength  of  the  bond  and 
(b)  the  interval  of  time  which  has  elapsed  since  the  last  practice. 

(2)  We  forget  very  rapidly  at  first  and  then  more  and  nwrc  slowly. 

(3)  Only  thru  a  great  amount  of  practice  can  one  hope  to  retain  a 
habit  over  a  long  interval  of  time. 

(4)  Relearning  at  the  start  of  any  practice  is  to  be  expected. 
The  following  minor  points  were  also  touched  on. 

(i)  The  physiological  basis  for  retention. 

(2)  Primary  versus  Secondary  retention. 

(3)  Use  of  memory  span  test  in  diagnosing  an  indiridual's  capacities. 

(4)  The  "learning  and  saving"  method  of  studying  retention. 

(5)  The  "recognition  memory"  method  of  studying  retention. 

(6)  Recall  versus  recognition  memory. 


LESSON  17  81 

LESSON   17.— WHAT  FACTORS  AFFECT  THE  STRENGTH 

OF  A  BOND? 

From  our  experiments  on  the  learning  process  we  know  that  prac- 
tice (repetition)  results  in  our  doing  the  task  better  and  better.  This 
means  that  the  bond  or  bonds  connecting  the  situation  and  the  re- 
sponse become  stronger  and  stronger.  And  from  our  study  of  reten- 
tion we  have  seen  that  lapse  of  time  in  which  no  practice  occurs  re- 
sults in  #ur  losing  some  of  our  efficiency  in  the  task.  This  means  that 
such  lapse  results  in  a  weakening  of  the  bonds  connecting  the  situa- 
tion and  response.  Clearly  then,  use  strengthens  a  bond  and  disuse 
weakens  it 

Let  us  turn  now  and  see  if  there  are  still  other  factors  which  affect 
the  strength  of  a  bond. 

The  class-hour  will  be  devoted  to  a  demonstration  experiment.  Each 
member  of  the  class  will  consequently  act  in  the  role  of  subject.  Carry 
out  the  instructions  of  E  as  conscientiously  as  possible  but  do  not 
worry  if  you  find  you  are  not  retaining  all  that  is  presented.  No  one 
can.  Simply  endeavor  to  pay  attention  thruout  the  entire  experiment 
and  to  absorb  as  much  as  possible. 

The  total  results  as  obtained  from  the  class  will  be  given  to  you 
before  leaving,  together  with  such  details  of  the  procedure  as  are 
essential  for  you  to  know.  Write  up  the  experiment  in  the  usual  man- 
ner, i.  e.,  »nder  the  headings :  The  Problem,  Apparatus,  Procedure,  etc. 
Work  tip  the  data  as  it  seems  best  to  you,  bringing  out  the  important 
facts  and  principles  which  are  illustrated.  Hand  in  your  report  at  the 
next  class-hour. 


NOTE    FOR    INTRUCTOR.      Instructions    regardins    giving    this    class    cxpcriBMnt    aiv 
Civen   «•  a    footnote    in   Leason    IS. 


LESSON     1 8 


83 


LESSON  18.--WHAT  FACTORS  AFFECT  THE  STRENGTH  OF 
A  BOND?  (Continaed)'' 

RESULTS   OF   THE   EXPERIMENT    IN    LESSON    I7** 

A  Study  of  the  data  obtained  from  the  experiment  which  was  per- 
formed at  the  last  class-hour  will  satisfactorily  introduce  the  subject  as 
to  what  factors  affect  the  strength  of  a  bond.  In  Table  II  are  tabu- 
lated the  results  obtained  from  96  men  and  women.  Opposite  each 
combination  (as  B-52  or  D-84)  is  given  the  per  cent,  of  individuals 
who  remembered  the  combination,  that  is,  the  extent  to  which  they 
could  supply  correctly  the  numeral  when  the  letter  was  called  out.  In 
the  last  column  an  average  per  cent,  is  gfiven  for  each  of  the  different 
types  of  combinations. 


*  CLASS-HOUR 

IN    CLASS 

WRITE    UP 

READ 

18 
19 
20 
21 

Discuss,    Lesson     1 7 
Review,   Les.    1-18 

Examination 
ElxF>er.    Lesson    2 1 

Lesson    20 
Lesson    2  1 

L«sson    18 

Review,    Les.     I-I9 

**  The  experiment  in  Lesson  17  should  be  conducted  as  follows:  Prepare  39 
cardboard  cards,  10x6  inches.  The  first  card  serves  as  a  cover  for  the  set.  On  the 
remainder  write  a  letter  and  numeral  (as  C  56),  occupying  an  area  about  8x4  inches. 
The  respective  combinations   for  each  card   follow: 


1 

G    56 

]  1 

V 

49 

2 

Z    37 

E 

21 

3 

E    2i 

N 

80 

4 

J     64 

S 

86 

5 

F    38 

T 

41 

6 

M    47 

C 

teo 

7 

K    91 

K 

91 

8 

9    '5 
T    27 

18 

M 

47 

9 

19 

P 

25 

10 

R    18 

20 

F 

79 

21 

D  84 

31 

W  62 

22 

H    73 

32 

X    72 

2? 

R    42 

F    38 

24 

L    50 

B    52 

25 

T    27 

M    47 

26 

F    38 

A    36 

27 

N    53 

T    27 

2« 

E    21 

38 

Y    94 

29 

Z   37 

30 

0  89 

All  cards  should  be  numbered  in  small  figures  on  the  back  so  tha  ttbey  may  readily 
be  kept  in  order.  On  cards  Nos.  6  and  3  I  should  be  pasted  colored  paper  so  that  the 
letter- number  combination  appears  on  a  colored  backgroiuid.  (Lavender  and  orange- 
red  were  used  by  the  writer.) 

Tlie  instructor  holds  the  pack  of  cards  in  one  hand  so  that  the  bottom  edge  rests 
on  an  elevated  stand.  Three  seconds  after  the  signal,  "Ready,"  he  removes  the  cofver 
card,  exposing  card  No.  I .  Every  three  seconds  thereafter  he  removes  another  card 
until  all  have  been  exposed. 

Occupy  the  class  for  three  or  four  minutes  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  writing 
down   the   last   few   combinations   which   they   hold   in   mind. 

Now  call  out  the  following  letters  and  instruct  the  class  to  write  down  the  letter 
and  the  first  number  that  comes  to  mind.  The  letters  are  B,  D,  H,  P,  S.  K,  21,  E. 
M.  F,  T.  R.  N,  G,  Y,  Q,  W.  C,  and  L.  Then  call  out  the  numerals,  36.  89,  64,  49,  and 
72,   asking  for  the   letters  associated   with   the  nunterals. 

Next,  repeat  the  lists  of  letters  and  numbers  giving  also  the  correct  associations. 
Obtain  the  number  in  the  class  that  got  each  combination  correct;  reduce  it  to  percent- 
age, and  place  the  results  on  the  board.  Also  place  on  the  board  the  results  in 
Table  II. 

Make  plain  to  the  class  the  significance  of  each  group  of  data.  The  extent  to 
which  backward  associations  are  formed  as  contrasted  with  forward  can  be  pointed  out 
from  the  results  obtained  where  the  numerals   were  called  out  instead  of  the  letters. 


$4  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACH I-RS 

TABLE  II.    SHOWING  EFFECT  OF  REPETITION,  INTENSITY  AND 

REORGANIZATION  ON  ROTE  LEARNING.    (BASED  ON 

RESULTS  FROM  60  MEN  AND  36  WOMEN. 

One    Repetition 

B        52  7% 

D        84  3-5 

H        73  2.S 

P        25  5-5 

S        86  6  5.% 

Two  Repetitions 

K        gi  13.S 

Z         37  45                        9 
Three  Repetitions 

E         21  35 

M       47  46.5                     41 
Three  Repetitions  of  One  Combination  and  One  Repetttioa  of 

a  Competing    Combination 

F        38  (3)  19.5 

79  (i)  o 

T        27  (3)  19-5 

41  (0  2  19.5— I 

One  Repetition  of  Each  of  the  Competing  Combinations 
R        iS  (I)  0 

42  (I)  o 
N        80  (I)  I 

53  (i)  2  0.5—1 

Contrast:    First    Place    in    the    List 

G        56  5 

Contrast :     Last  Place  in  the  List 

^  Y  94  3 
Contrast :     Colored    Background 

Q        15  12 

W       62  6                        9 

Reorganization :  Use   of   Old    Bonds 

C      100  60.5 

L       50  20.5                      40.5 

Repetition.  In  this  particular  experiment  when  a  combination  was 
shown  once  it  was  remembered  by  5%  of  the  individuals,  when  shown 
twice  it  was  remembered  by  9*,  and  when  shown  three  times,  by  41% 
of  the  individuals.  These  figures  show  the  value  of  repetition.  It 
should  not  be  assumed  that  they  represent  what  would  happen  under 
other  conditions.  The  more  items  shown  the  weaker  is  the  relative 
value  of  repetition.  If  there  were  but  ten  addition  combinations  to 
learn  a  few  repetitions  would  suffice  to  fixate  them.  But  as  there  are 
many  more  than  that  very  many  more  repetitions  are  necessary.  The 
figures  in  the  table,  however,  do  illustrate  the  value  of  repetition. 
(Review  here  the  value  of  repetition  in  learning  the  alphabet  back- 
wards, the  mirror-drawing  experiment,  etc.) 

Interference.  In  the  next  two  parts  of  the  experiment  is  illus- 
trated the  effect  of  interference  as  it  works  against  the  effect  of  repe- 
tition.   Interference  may  be  thought  of  here  as  equivalent  to  making 


LESSOX  1 8  85 

mistakes  in  memorizing  the  multiplication  table  or  in  spelling.  When 
"R"  is  seen  with  "18"  once  and  "R"  with  "42"  once  the  effect  is  that 
no  one  remembers  either  combination ;  instead  of  5%  remembering 
both.  A  bond  is  started  toward  perfect  development  by  the  presenta- 
tions of  "R — 18"  connecting  "R"  with  "18".  Likewise  in  the  case 
of  "R — 42"  connecting  "R"  with  "42."  When  R  is  presented  again 
neither  bond  functions  as  neither  has  a  superiority  over  the  other.  In 
the  case  where  "F"  was  shown  three  times  with  "38"  and  but  once  with 
"79".  19%  recalled  "38"  when  "F"  was  shown  again  and  0%  recalled 
"79."  The  competing  bond  (F-79)  injured  the  other  bond  (F-38)  to 
the  extent  of  the  difference  between  41%  and  19%  or  22%. 

Intensity  by  Contrast.  In  the  next  three  parts  of  the  table  are  shown 
three  different  cases  of  learning  thru  contrast.  By  this  it  is  meant  that 
the  situation  "G-56"  is  supposed  to  make  a  more  intense  effect  than  the 
situation  "D-84"  because  "G-56"  was  the  first  combination  which  was 
shown,  whereas  "D-84"  was  shown  somewhere  in  the  middle  of  the 
lifit  "Y-94/'  the  last  combination  to  be  shown,  is  also  supposed  to 
make  a  more  intense  effect  than  the  average  simply  because  it  comes 
last.  In  this  particular  experiment  the  first  and  last  combinations  are 
no  better  remembered  than  any  of  the  others.  In  some  experiments 
they  are  remembered  to  a  greater  extent.  The  writer  is  convinced  on 
the  basis  of  experiments,  including  from  10  to  150  items,  that  the  first 
and  last  place  are  important  in  a  short  series  but  unimportant  in 
longer  ones. 

Intensity  may  be  illustrated  in  other  ways  than  in  terms  of  the  first 
and  last  place.  In  the  case  of  "Q-15"  and  "W-62"  we  find  they  were 
better  remembered  than  the  average  because  of  their  colored  back- 
ground. On  the  basis  of  more  extensive  experiments  the  writer  is  con- 
vinced that  such  a  type  of  intensity  is  not  so  effective  as  indicated  here 
by  the  data.  Possibly,  the  true  situation  is  this.  If  only  one  or  two 
items  are  made  prominent  by  a  colored  background  then  they  are  no- 
ticed to  a  considerable  extent  and  so  remembered.  If  many  items  are 
made  prominent,  the  intensity  factor  becomes  much  less  valuable. 
Contrast  the  value,  for  example,  of  one  colored  advertisement  in  the 
Saturday  Evening  Post  as  against  twenty  or  one  hundred. 

'Prominence  (intensity  or  contrast)  may  aid  in  learning  because  the 
item  is  singled  out  and  noticed  more  than  the  others  and,  therefore, 
remembered  better. 

Reorganisation.  The  reorganization  factor  is  intimately  tied  up  witfc 
the  bond  to  be  developed.  This  means  that  "C-ioo"  or  "L-50"  haifc 
already  been  partly  learned  and  that  previous  learning  is  now  maA 
use  of  here.     Just  as  in  the  case  of  "hund"  and  "dog"  aUm^  «f> 


86  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

"hound"  and  thereby  linking  "hund"  with  "dog"  by  way  of  the  inter- 
mediate step  of  "hound,"  so  in  this  case  "C"  and  "lOo"  call  up  the 
Roman  system  of  notation  where  "C"  stands  for  "lOo"  and  as  soon  as 
that  is  done  the  "C"  in  this  particular  experiment  is  thought  of  as 
linked  with  "lOO."  About  55  out  of  the  96  men  and  women  connected 
"C"  and"  100"  together  and  so  remembered  the  combination.  In  their 
case  the  new  detail  (Roman  system  of  notation),  as  soon  as  it  was 
recalled,  became  a  part  of  the  situation,  so  that  when  later  the  in- 
structor called  out  "C,"  they  reacted  not  only  to  "C"  but  also  to  the 
new  detail  and  consequently  wrote  down  "100." 

WHAT  FACTORS  AFFECT  THE  STRENGTH  OF  A  BOND? 

In  order  to  make  sure  that  these  various  factors  are  clearly  under- 
stood let  us  go  over  the  subject  again.  We  have  just  mentioned  four 
factors  as  aflFecting  the  strength  of  a  bond.  Lessons  15  and  16  em- 
phasized the  negative  side  of  this  matter,  i.  e.,  that  disuse  weakens  a 
bond.  Accordingly  a  fifth  factor  may  be  added  to  our  list,  i.  e.,  that  of 
"recency."  A  sixth  factor,  "effect,"  will  be  considered  for  the  first 
time.    The  six  factors  are: — 

1.  Repetition. 

2.  Interference. 

3.  Intensity:   (a)   intense  stimulation,  (b)   primacy,  (c)   contrast. 

4.  Reorganization:  (a)  use  of  old  bonds,  (b)  novelty — new  com- 
bination of  old  bonds. 

5.  Recency. 

6.  Effect. 

Repetition.  We  clearly  realize  that  a  bond  is  strengthened  thru 
repetition.  Our  learning  in  the  alphabet,  mirror-drawing,  and  vocab- 
ularlv  experiments  clearly  showed  this  fact. 

Interference  is  a  factor  in  affecting  the  strength  of  a  bond.  We 
have  here  the  formation  of  two  bonds  connecting  the  same  situation 
with  two  different  responses.  As  both  responses  can  not  be  made  at 
the  same  time,  when  the  situation  is  presented,  no  response  results. 
If  a  child  in  reciting  the  muUipHcation  table  says  9X7  is  63  and 
later  says  9X7  is  67,  when  called  on  by  the  teacher  for  the  answer  to 
9X7  be  will  make  no  reply  in  most  cases,  or  wildly  guess.  To 
strengthen  a  bond  requires  then  that  no  comneting  bonds  be  formed  at 
the  same  time.  After  a  bond  has  been  well  developed,  however,  a  new 
bond  may  be  developed  without  any  great  injury  to  the  old  one.  Herein 
lies  one  of  the  reasons  for  teaching  the  addition  combinations  first  and 
then  the  multiplication  combinations  afterwards.  If  they  were  taught 
at  the  same  time  there  would  be  great  confusion.  After  the  first  have 
been  well  learned  then  the  latter  can  be  readily  learned.    But  even  here 


LESSON   1 8  ^7 

it  is  an  advantage  to  keep  them  apart  in  the  school  work  until  both 
are  fairly  well  developed. 

Distraction  is  another  phase  of  interference.  The  playing  of  a  piano 
in  the  next  room  intereferes  with  my  studying.  Here  there  is  compe- 
tition between  situations,  i.  e.,  "music"  and  "algebra"  rather  than  be- 
tween the  responses  to  the  same  situation. 

Intensity:  (a)  intense  stimulation.  Of  two  repetitions  the  one 
that  is  the  result  of  the  greater  stimulation  will  result  in  the  greater 
development  of  the  bond.  A  tiny  bum  on  the  skin  will  not  make  us 
leave  the  hot  radiator  alone  like  a  large  burn.  A  fact  learned  under 
quiet  conditions  will  not  be  remembered  so  well  as  one  which  is  inti- 
mately connected  with  strong  emotional  excitement.  In  physiological 
terms  the  release  of  a  large  amount  of  nervous  current  by  stimulation 
of  the  sense  organs  will  more  materially  affect  the  nerve  connections 
than  will  the  release  of  a  small  amount  of  current.  This  is  the  basis  for 
the  factor  of  intensity  as  it  aflFects  the  strength  of  a  bond.  In  our  ex- 
periment there  was  no  adequate  example  of  a  violent  stimulation.  If 
there  had  been  that  combination  would  have  been  exceedingly  well 
remembered.  This  might  have  been  accomplished  in  the  experiment  by 
having  exposed  a  combination  twice  or  three  times  as  long,  or  by  hav- 
ing the  instructor  call  out  the  combination  as  he  showed  it.  But 
neither  of  these  are  comparable  to  the  intense  stimulation  we  experi- 
enced when  we  caught  a  bee  the  first  time.  Thruout  life  that  one 
experience  of  being  stung  is  remembered  and  we  markedly  differen- 
tiate bees  and  other  insects.  The  artificial  production  of  great  stimu- 
lation is  extremely  difficult  to  accomplish  in  influencing  others.  The 
orator  tries  to  bring  it  about  by  arousing  our  emotions  and  driving 
home  his  point  thru  this  added  excitement.  It  is  done  sometimes  thru 
punishment.  But  after  all  it  is  difficult  to  do  and  seldom  done  in  a 
very  effective  manner.  What  is  actually  done  is  to  employ,  v/hat  has 
been  called  here,  contrast  effects. 

Intensity:  (h)  primacy.  Primacy  in  the  sense  of  the  "first  response 
to  a  situation"  derives  its  strength  from  lack  of  interference.  When 
once  a  child  has  pronounced  a  word  incorrectly  or  has  named  an  object 
incorrectly  it  is  a  very  much  more  difficult  task  to  correct  the  error  than 
to  teach  a  new  word.  Often  primacy  is  confused  with  intensity,  as  in 
the  case  of  catching  a  bee.  In  the  experiment,  "G-56"  can  hardly  be 
construed  as  an  example  of  primacy  as  this  is  not  the  first  time  a  re- 
sponse has  been  made  to  "G." 

Intensity:  (c)  contrast.  The  contrast  factor  has  reference  essen- 
tially to  a  difference  which  is  not  a  vital  part  of  the  bond  to  be  devel- 
oped.   For  example,  "G-56"  occupying  first  place  in  the  list  is  reniem- 


88  INTRODUCTORY    I'SYCHOLOCY    I^OR    TEACHRRS 

bcred  better  than  "D-84",  occupying  an  inconspicuous  place  in  the  list. 
Position  is  not  intimately  tied  up  with  the  bond  connecting  G  with  56 
or  D  with  84.  The  same  is  the  case  with  the  combinations  "Q-15"  and 
'•W-62,"  which  had  colored  backgrounds.  The  contrast  factor  of  dif- 
ference in  background  is  not  intimately  a  part  of  the  bond  to  be  de- 
veloped connecting  Q  with  15  or  W  with  62.  These  contrast  eflfects  do 
tend  to  single  out  the  particular  combinations  so  favored  and  because 
they  are  singled  out  they  are  more  intensely  noticed  and  so  retained. 
But  this  additional  gain  amounts  to  only  a  few  per  cent,  in  most  cases. 

The  fact  that  different  degrees  of  stimulation  do  affect  the  strength 
of  the  bond  must  not  be  overlooked.  But,  as  already  pointed  out,  this 
is  difficult  to  accomplish.  What  generally  is  resorted  to  is  contrast. 
And  this  is  often  of  no  particular  value.  Sometimes,  it  is  worth  while, 
but  it  does  not  compare  in  value  with  the  factor  of  reorganization. 

Reorganisation:  (a)  use  of  old  bonds.  Reorganization  is  also  a  fac- 
tor in  strengthening  a  bond.  It  is  not  a  factor  in  the  development  of  a 
really  new  bond,  of  course,  but  from  the  practical  point  of  view  of 
learning  it  is  a  most  important  factor  since  a  great  deal  of  our  learning 
consists  of  linking  a  situation  with  a  response  by  means  of  already  es- 
tablished bonds.  To  link  "hund"  with  "dog"  by  means  of  the  ele- 
ment "hound"  is  just  as  truly  learning  as  to  connect  them  directly 
together. 

Two  degrees  of  reorganization  may  be  recognized,  (a)  thru  the  use 
of  old  bonds,  or  (b)  thru  the  use  of  old  bonds  combined  in  a  new 
way  (novelty).  Both  are  most  effective  but  the  latter  is  the  better  of 
the  two. 

The  case  of  learning  "C-ioo"  thru  linking  up  "C"  with  "Roman  no- 
tation" is  an  excellent  example  of  the  use  of  old  bonds.  So  also  is  that 
of  learning  that  "hund"  means  "dog"  thru  utilizing  "hund-hound"  and 
"hound-dog."  The  old,  old  adage  in  education  of  "going  from  the 
known  to  the  unknown"  in  teaching  covers  this  point  because  when  we 
start  in  to  teach  a  new  thing  and  first  consider  all  of  its  phases  which 
are  already  known,  the  child  connects  it  up  with  old  bonds  and  .so  util- 
izes them  in  learning. 

Reorganization:  (h)  novelty — new  combination  of  old  bonds.  In 
this  type  of  reorganization  we  use  old  bonds  as  in  the  cases  just  dis- 
cussed, but  we  go  farther  and  present  them  in  a  new  or  novel  com- 
bination. The  writer  was  lecturing  one  hot  day  just  after  lunch,  upon 
this  subject  and  the  students  gradually  became  more  and  more  list- 
less and  inattentive.  Now  either  contrast  or  reorganization  could  be 
utilized  to  get  their  attention.  The  writer  could  have  talked  louder,  or 
paced  up  and  down  the  room,  or  written  on  the  board,  etc.    All  these 


LESSON    1 8  89 

would  be  contrast  effects  and  would  have  some  effect.  Instead  he 
described  in  his  ordinary  tone  of  voice  an  advertisement  entitled  some- 
thing like  this,  "How  does (an  actor)  make  a  cat  yawn  on  the 

stage  every  night?"  Immediately,  the  class  was  awake  and  paying  at- 
tention. Why?  Because  a  situation  made  up  of  details  with  very  old 
and  well  developed  bonds  was  presented.  And  the  combination  was 
new.  The  words  "cat,"  "yawn,"  "stage,"  and  "night,"  have  very 
strong  bonds.  Such  a  novel  reorganization  of  old,  familiar  situations 
will  always  attract  attention  (i.  e.,  be  responded  to)  and  will  easily  be 
retained. 

There  is  a  profound  difference  between  learning  a  new  thing  and 
learning  a  nczv  combination  of  old  things.  The  former  is  most  unin- 
eresting  and  difficult  to  "get  a  hold  of,"  despite  the  popular  notion. 
Consider  how  uninteresting  the  first  lesson  in  physics  or  algebra  was, 
or  how  little  you  read  of  foreign  countries  you  have  not  visited.  On 
the  other  hand,  consider  with  what  interest  the  expert  milliner  reads 
over  technical  discussions  of  the  latest  styles,  or  a  botanist  seizes  upon 
a  new  flower,  or  you  read  descriptions  of  places  you  have  visited.  The 
average  visitor  to  Niagara  Falls  or  Yosemite  is  very  often  disap- 
pointed at  first.  The  scene  is  too  new  to  make  an  impression.  But  as 
he  continues  to  drink  in  the  scene  for  several  days  it  grows  and 
grows  on  him  because  he  has  commenced  to  link  it  up  with  his  other 
experiences.  A  big  dog  is  a  contrast  to  an  ordinary  sized  dog.  It 
arouses  some  notice  and  is  more  likely  to  be  remembered  than  the 
average  dog.  But  a  dog  with  a  pipe  in  his  mouth  is  a  novelty — a  new 
combination  of  two  old  familiar  things  (dog  and  pipe).  That  dog 
draws  a  crowd. 

In  teaching,  in  advertising,'  or  in  any  field  where  one  desires  to 
create  an  impression  and  have  it  retained,  that  impression  can  be  most 
easily  and  efficiently  accomplished  by  linking  up  the  parts  of  the  new 
impression  thru  the  use  of  old  bonds,  old  ways  of  thinking.  A  novel 
presentation  (i.  e.,  one  capable  of  reorganization  by  the  learner)  accom- 
plishes most.  And  it  is  efficient  just  in  the  degree  that  the 
old  is  utilized  by  the  learner  in  connecting  the  new  together.  Contrast 
effects,  such  as  increasing  the  size  of  the  type  in  an  advertisemer.t  or 
the  size  of  the  advertisement  itself,  or  giving  it  a  colored  background, 
or  yelling  at  the  class,  or  writing  an  assignment  in  pink  chalk,  or 
wearing  a  florid  necktie,  do  not  aid  particularly  in  developing  the  new 
bonds  presented  in  advertising,  teaching,  or  salesmanship,  and  some- 


(1)  See  H.  L.  Hollingworth.  Advertising  and  Selling,  1913,  Chapters  V  and  VI  for 
an  extended  discussion  of  the  factors  of  contrast  and  novelty  as  utilized  in  adver- 
tising. 


90  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHEP^ 

times  they  positively   interfere  thru   distraction    (interference). 

When  the  lesson  can  only  be  learned  thru  the  development  of  new 
(actually  new)  bonds,  then  drill  (repetition)  is  the  only  solution.  This 
does  not  mean  that  the  lesson  need  be  recited  over  and  over  in  the 
same  way.  No.  Proper  drill  is  repetition  carried  on  in  various  ways 
so  that  the  learner  will  not  tire  of  the  monotony,  but  will  be  stimulated 
by  changes  in  the  performance ;  and  where  nevertheless  the  essential 
part  is  repeated  again  and  again  until  mastered. 

Recency.  The  experiments  in  relearning  the  alphabet  and  vocabulary 
have  clearly  demonstrated  that  we  forget,  that  our  bonds  do  deteriorate 
if  they  are  not  used.  The  more  recently  we  have  performed  an  act 
the  better  can  we  do  it  again. 

Effect.  In  addition  to  the  foregoing  five  factors  which  affect  the 
strength  of  a  bond.  Thomdike  lists  a  sixth — that  of  effect.'  When 
we  make  a  response  to  a  situation  and  feel  satisfied  or  pleased,  then  the 
bond  is  strengthened  because  of  the  satisfyingness.  When  the  re- 
sponse is  followed  by  dissatisfaction,  the  bond  is  weakened  because  of 
the  dissatisfyingness.  Moreover,  the  closer  or  more  intimate  the  re- 
lationship between  the  performance  and  the  satisfaction  or  dissatisfac- 
tion the  more  pronounced  is  the  effect  upon  the  strengthening  or 
weakening  of  the  bond. 

Psychologists  are  not  all  agreed  upon  this  point.  Some,  like  Wat- 
son^,  deny  the  existence  of  such  a  factor.  Others,  like  the  writer,  are 
not  agreed  that  Thorndike's  explanation  is  correct  but  accept  the  prac- 
tical results  as  stated  by  him.  This  is  not  the  place  to  consider  the 
technicalities  of  the  controversy.  From  our  standpoint,  the  practical 
implications  are  true. 

Effect  influences  learning  because  the  resulting  satisfaction  or  dis- 
satisfaction establishes,  first,  a  standard  in  terms  of  which  successful 
movements  are  repeated  and  unsuccessful  ones  discontinued,  and  sec- 
ond, the  organism  continues  a  process  which  gives  him  pleasure  and 
discontinues  a  process  which  gives  him  displeasure.  All  of  Watson's 
experiments  in  which  he  rewards  the  correct  movement  and  punishes 
the  incorrect  ones  bear  this  out.  His  rats  choose  the  former  because 
they  are  so  constituted  that  they  go  toward  food  and  not  away  from 
it,  avoid  an  electric  shock  instead  of  seeking  it.  We  develop  habits 
which  result  in  our  being  able  to  do  what  we  enjoy  and  we  do  not  form 
habits  which  result  in  unpleasantness. 

The  Law  of  Effect  which  we  add  to  our  five  other  factors  means, 
then,  that  learning  is  dependent  ( i )  on  the  presence  of  some  standard 

(I)      E.   L.  Thorndike.   Educational  Paycbolofy,    1913,  Vol.   II.,  p.   4. 
<2)      J.  B.  Watson,  B«havior,    1914.  Chapter  Vll. 


LESSON   1 8  91 

which  determines  when  the  learning  process  (random  movements)  is 
ended,  (and  it  is  ended  when  we  obtain  a  more  satisfactory  state  than 
before,  or  are  completely  exhausted)  and  (2)  on  the  fact  that  we  will 
continue  pleasant  responses  but  will  not  continue  unpleasant  ones. 

The  second  thought  in  Thorndike's  statement  is  also  important.  The 
sooner  after  the  movement  has  been  made  that  we  know  we  are  on  the 
right  track  or  on  the  wrong  track  (i.  e.,  experience  pleasantness  or 
unpleasantness),  the  greater  is  the  value  of  this  factor  in  learning.  If  a 
cliild  has  spelled  incorrectly  or  disobeyed  his  mother  then  immediate 
punishment  is  far  more  efficient  than  delayed  punishment.  In  fact,  in 
teaching  animals  or  small  children  only  immediate  praise  or  punish- 
ment is  worthy  of  consideration.  As  one  grows  older  one  can  profit 
from  satisfaction  or  dissatisfaction  after  much  longer  intervals  be- 
tween the  execution  of  the  act  and  the  resulting  realization  that  one  has 
performed  the  act  correctly  or  incorrectly.  Nevertheless  the  shorter 
the  interval  of  time  the  greater  the  value  of  this  factor  of  "effect." 
Conscientious  high  school  or  college  teachers  of  English  labor  for 
hours  making  detailed  corrections  in  grammar,  etc.,  in  themes  and 
then  wonder  why  the  same  mistakes  are  made  again  and  again.  One 
reason  is  undoubtedly  that  the  correction  follows  so  long  after  the 
act.  Immediate  correction  would  accomplish  wonders  here  as  con- 
trasted with  this  long  delayed  arousal  of  dissatisfaction.  Grammar 
school  teachers,  on  the  other  hand,  require  each  child  to  write  his  les- 
son on  the  board  and  call  upon  him  to  defend  it  before  the  class.  Here 
the  intei^al  between  execution  and  realization  is  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

MISCELLANEOUS  FACTORS  AFFECTING  LEARNING  IN  GENERAL. 

Individuals  differ  in  ability  to  learn,  as  we  shall  see  in  lessons  to 
follow.  Some  are  bright  and  quick,  others  are  dull  and  very  slow. 
The  age  of  the  individual  is  a  factor.  Experiments  prove  that  we  im- 
prove in  learning  capacity  as  we  advance  from  childhood  to  maturity. 
General  health  also  affects  learning,  altho  not  so  much  as  is  popularly 
supposed.  A  hard  cold  interferes  because  it  makes  us  loath  to  work. 
Probably,  if  we  tried  as  hard,  we  would  learn  just  about  as  well. 


The  next  class-hour  (the  19th)  will  be  devoted  to  a  review  of  Lessons 
1-18,  followed  by  a  written  examination  during  the  20th  class-hour. 
Read  over  Lesson  19  in  connection  with  the  review. 


92  INTKODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHER*^ 

LESSON  19— THE  LEARNING  PROCESS  IN  GENERAL 

SOME  BONDS  ARE  UNLEARNED,  OTHERS  ARE  LEARNED. 

All  acts  of  behavior  involve  a  response  to  a  situation.  And  this 
condition  postulates  the  existence  of  a  bond  between  situation  and  re- 
sponse. It  is  evident  from  the  experiments  which  have  been  performed 
that  bonds  are  formed — that  at  one  time  in  a  person's  life  certain 
bonds  did  not  exist  which  later  came  into  existence.  Such  changes 
are  what  is  meant  by  learning — the  development  of  new  bonds. 
A  still  closer  study  of  man's  behavior,  especially  when  he  is  an  infant, 
leads  us  to  realize  that  there  are  some  bonds  which  do  not  develop  thru 
the  process  of  learning.  Such  bonds  develop  naturally :  just  as  natur- 
ally as  do  man's  teeth,  hair,  blood  vessels,  or  digestive  system.  Situa- 
tion-bond-response combinations  which  develop  naturally  are  referred 
to  as  reflexes  or  instincts.  Combinations,  on  the  other  hand,  which 
are  developed  thru  learning  are  termed  habits. 

Reflexes  and  Instincts.  A  reflex  is  an  act  in  which  there  is  a  single 
situation  as  the  cause  of  the  stimulation  followed  by  a  simple  response, 
the  bond  or  connection  between  sense-organ  and  muscle  being  un- 
learned. Reflex  acts  are  such  as,  jerking  the  hand  away  from  a  hot 
stove,  winking  when  an  object  suddenly  comes  toward  us,  coughing 
when  the  throat  is  irritated,  etc.  An  instinctive  act,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  one  in  which  there  is  a  more  complex  situation,  ordinarily,  followed 
by  a  more  complex  response,  the  bond  being  also  unlearned.  Instincts 
would  be  illustrated  by  such  behavior  as  a  mother's  interest  in  her 
baby,  fear  and  flight  from  a  large  animal,  a  boy's  interest  in  girls,  etc. 

There  can  be  no  sharp  line  of  demarcation  drawn  between  reflexes 
and  instincts  any  more  than  all  men  can  be  divided  into  two  groups 
of  short  and  tall  men.  Some  men  are  undoubtedly  short  or  tall,  just  as 
some  of  these  unlearned  acts  are  clearly  reflexes  or  instincts.  But 
most  men  are  neither  decidedly  short  nor  tall.  In  the  same  way  most 
unlearned  acts  can  be  classified  either  as  reflexes  or  instincts  depending 
upon  the  definitions  set  up.  In  a  general  way,  reflexes  are  simple  acts, 
involving  little  or  no  consciousness  of  what  is  being  done  and  seem- 
ingly an  action  carried  on  by  only  a  part  of  oneself,  as  my  hand,  my 
eye,  etc.  Instincts  are  more  complex,  consciousness  is  involved,  and 
I  feel  that  I  myself  am  involved,  as  when  I  pet  a  baby,  or  run  irom  a 
bull,  or  get  interested  in  a  girl. 

The  most  important  point  to  note  in  all  these  cases  is  that  the  re- 
sponse is  always  one  that  is  made  naturally  without  any  training.  In 
other  words,  the  bond  connecting  situation  and  response  is  unlearned. 

It  is  not  a  part  of  this  treatise  to  consider  the  subject  of  man's  in- 


LF.SSO  .    l<.)  93 

stincts.  The  subject  is  large  enough  and  important  enough  to  warrant 
an  equal  amount  of  space  to  it  as  is  given  here  to  the  learning  process. 
But  it  should  be  realized  that  man  is  equipped  by  nature,  thru  his  re- 
flexes and  instincts,  to  respond  in  certain  definite  ways  to  thousands  of 
situations  which  will  confront  him  in  life.  This  means  that  nervous 
connections  are  already  formed  between  sense-organs  and  muscles,  80 
that  when  man  is  confronted  with  certain  situations  he  responds  .lUto- 
matically,  immediately  and  without  conscious  guidance. 

Habits.  On  the  other  hand,  habits  are  situation-bond-response  com- 
binations which  have  been  developed  thru  training.  At  one  time  there 
was  no  bond.  Unless  such  new  bonds  were  formed  man  would  not 
advance  beyond  the  limits  of  his  reflexive  and  instinctive  equipment. 

HOW   ARE    NEW   BONDS   FORMED?      THE   LEARNING    PROCESS 

Associative  Shifting.  A  habit  may  develop  from  a  combination  of 
two  already  formed  situation-bond-response  combinations.  This  proc- 
ess we  have  called  associative  shifting.  (See  Lesson  14.) 

Trial  and  Error.  The  second  method  of  learning  involves  those  cases 
in  which  we  are  confronted  with  a  situation  to  which  we  do  not  have 
the  correct  response.  Either  the  movement  or  movements  which  are 
required  for  the  appropriate  response  have  never  been  made  at  all  or 
the  particular  grouping  of  movements  has  never  been  made.  So  we 
learn  thru  random  movements.  For  example,  I  may  learn  to  wag  my 
ears  altho  at  the  present  time  I  cannot  move  them.  Or  I  may  learn  to 
trace  a  diagonal  line  in  the  mirror  after  practice.  In  this  case  I  must 
make  not  a  new  movement  itself  but  a  new  combination  of  two  more- 
ments  in  response  to  an  old  situation.  Suppose  the  line  appears  like 
this  in  the  mirror  .-^^  Ordinarilv  I  would  trace  between  these 
lines  by  moving  my  hand  to  the  right  and  away  from  my  body.  But  in 
the  experiment  I  must  move  my  arm  to  the  right  and  toward  the  body. 
This  new  combination  must  be  learned  thru  "trial  and  error,"  par- 
ticularly when  I  am  not  aware  of  just  what  the  situation  is.  Even  if  I 
did  know  the  above  facts,  altho  that  would  aid  me  decidedly,  still  I 
should  have  to  learn  to  make  the  new  combinations  thru  "trial  and 
error." 

As  a  seven-weeks'  baby  lies  in  its  basket  it  will  be  observed  to  kick 
its  legs,  turn  in  a  twisting  manner,  draw  up  its  arms,  cry,  wrinkle  its 
face,  kick  again,  turn  its  head,  etc.,  and  possibly  once  in  an  hour  of  such 
strugj^ling  emit  a  single  vowel  sound.  All  of  these  movements  are 
parts  of  its  repertoire  of  movements,  all  belong  to  this  or  that  reflex  or 
instinctive  movement  soon  to  ripen  into  the  complete  smooth  working 
reflex  or  instinct.  The  single  vowel  sound  is  a  part  of  the  reflex  ac- 
tion of  crying  but  in  a  sense  it  is  not  a  part  of  that  reflex  w^hen  occur- 


94  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

ring  all  alone.  Occurring  all  alone  it  is  an  accidental  happening :  part 
of  the  crying  reflex  was  stimulated  but  not  all.  In  early  life,  particu- 
larly, the  nervous  system  generates  an  excess  of  energy^  which  activates, 
because  of  the  excess,  not  only  the  appropriate  muscles  connected  with 
the  stimulations  of  the  moment  but  also  other  muscles  which  do  not, 
of  course,  produce  movements  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  stimulation. 
Thus  because  of  this  overflow  of  energy  from  time  to  time  other  move- 
ments than  reflex  and  instinctive  movements  take  place.  In  this  way 
the  vowel  sound  appears.  Once  having  occurred  alone,  separate  from 
crying  in  general,  according  to  the  laws  of  practice,  it  is  likely  to  occur 
again.  And  so  as  we  watch  the  baby  develop  we  find  the  single  vowel 
sound  occurring  more  and  more  often  until  finally  it  becomes  a  regular 
part  of  its  total  repertoire.  (Review  here  again  Lesson  17  as  it  refers 
to  this  point.) 

If  a  situation  to  be  properly  reacted  to  requires  a  new  movement, 
the  learning  must  take  the  form  of  "trial  and  error." 

PERCEPTION  ANOTHER  TERM  FOR  HABIT. 

A  perception  is  a  type  of  learned  performance  where  the  emphasis 
is  not  upon  the  muscular  response  but  upon  the  content  we  have  in 
consciousness.  For  example,  I  meet  a  baby  on  the  street.  When  I 
smile,  enjoy  the  cunning  baby,  etc.,  the  response  is  mainly  instinctive. 
When  I  call  out,  "Hello,  what  are  you  doing?"  the  response  is  mainly 
habitual  (I  learned  to  talk  and  to  salute  babies  that  way).  When,  on 
the  other  hand,  I  mainly  contemplate  the  baby  and  am  conscious  of  its 
pretty  hair,  bright  eyes,  pink  dress,  dirty  face  and  hands,  etc.,  the  re- 
sponse is  termed  perceptual — the  emphasis  is  not  upon  what  I  do 
(whether  instinctive  or  habitual)  but  upon  what  is  in  my  consciousness. 
The  term  perception  is  used  so  extensively  in  psychology  and  educa- 
tion that  it  is  important  to  understand  its  use. 

Consider  this  case  of  the  development  of  a  percept.  It  is  learned 
both  thru  associative  shifting  and  random  movements.  A  rattle  is 
placed  before  a  baby. 

SITUATION  RESPONSE 

eyes  focused  on  object  (i.  c,  re- 
flex   movements    of    muscles 
controlling    lens,    convergence 
Rattle   near   by    (retina   of   eye     of    two    eves,    movements    of 
stimulated)  head,    and   possibly    much   of 

the  upper  body)    (Visual  sen- 
sation  in    consciousness) 
reaches    for    rattle    (leading    to 
what  follows. 


LESSON  19  95 

fingers  close  about  rattle 

(touch     sensations     in     con- 
sciousness),  followed  by   fur- 
ther cutaneous'  and  kinxsthe- 
Fingers  touching  rattle  tic^  stimulations  being  aroused 

(skin  stimulated)  which  in  turn  bring  about  new 

manipulatory  movements. 

manipulatory  movements,  which 

cause  new  visual  stimulations, 

also  auditory  stimulations. 

head  turned  so  as  better  to  hear 

noise  (i.  e.,  reflex  movements 

Noise  of  rattle  of   muscles    which    turn   head 

(ear  stimulated)  and  possibly  upper  part  of  the 

body)  (auditory  sensations  in 
consciousness). 
After  a  short  time  it  is  clear  that  any  one  of  the  stimulations  thru 
touch,  vision,  or  hearing  would  immediately  call  up  any  one  or  all  of 
the  responses  listed  above.  In  this  way  thru  continued  experience  what 
we  call  the  perception  of  a  rattle  becomes  established.  In  other  words, 
seeing  or  touching  or  hearing  a  rattle  becomes  associated  with  how  it 
appears,  feels  or  sounds  so  that  the  sound  alone,  for  example,  arouses 
in  consciousness  a  percept  of  how  it  appears,  feels  to  the  touch,  and 
sounds. 

It  is  customary  to  call  these  learned  reactions  in  the  case  of  the  rat- 
tle perceptions.  They  are  habits  just  as  much  as  in  the  case  of  saying 
"dog"  in  response  to  "hund."  From  continued  repetition  of  certain 
situations,  together  with  their  responses  the  various  situations  become 
connected  up  with  the  responses  of  the  other  situations,  as  well  as  with 
their  own  responses.  Apparently  this  process  of  thus  connecting  up 
new  responses  with  situations  is  one  of  the  most  important  functions 
of  the  nervous  system. 

SUMMARY. 

In  reviewing  what  we  have  learned  concerning  the  learning  process, 
it  is  clear  that  we  started  with  certain  situations  whicli  are  connected 
up  with  certain  responses  thru  heredity  or  previous  experience,  and  we 
have  formed  new  connections  by  having  the  parts  presented  one  or 
more  times  together.     These  new  combinations  of  situation  and  re- 


( 1 )  Cutaneous  stimulations  are  stimulationa  affecting  the  skin,  giving  one,  in  tenns  of 
consciousness,  touch,  pain,  warmth  and  cold  and  combinations  of  these.  (Lesson  35  vrill 
present    the    subject    in   more    detail.) 

(2)  Kinaesthetic  stimulations  are  stimulations  afFectinR  sense-organs,  located  in  and 
about  the  muscles  and  joints,  giving  one,  in  terms  of  consciousness,  movement,  weight, 
pressure,   etc.    (Discussed   further   in   the   following   lessons.) 


96  INTRODUCTORY     PSYCHOLOGY     FOR     TEACHERS 

spons€  are  habits;  they  are  learned  connections  in  contradistinction  to 
reflexes,  which  are  unlearned  connections. 

Also  because  of  our  psysical  nature,  which  is  so  constituted  that 
changes  can  take  place  in  it,  new  situation-bond-response  combinations 
can  be  formed  (i.  e.,  habits).  These  habits  appear  thru  the  combining 
or  modifications  of  reflexes,  instincts,  and  already  existing  habits.  The 
overflow  of  nervous  energy  resulting  in  random  movement  is  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  development  of  these  habits. 

WHAT  THE  LEARNING  PROCESS  MEANS  TO  EDUCATION 

Evidently,  learning  is  connecting.  It  is  the  forming  of  a  bond  be- 
tween a  situation  and  a  response ;  the  development  of  a  habit.  Clearly 
also,  early  in  life  the  new  connections  will  be  slight  modifications  of 
reflex  and  instinctive  actions;  later  the  new  coimections  may  join  great 
groups  of  complex  habits  together  into  such  complicated  processes  as 
playing  the  piano  or  solving  an  original  in  geometry. 

Teaching  is,  then,  the  m-anipulation  of  the  details  making  up  the 
situations  which  confront  children  so  that  as  they  respond  they  will 
constantly  form  ne^v  habits  and,  moreover,  habits  that  are  desirable 
ones.  If  the  desired  responses  are  new  ones  for  the  child  then  the 
learning  must  be  of  the  "trial  and  error"  type.  But  if  the  desired  re- 
sponse is  one  that  is  already  a  response  to  another  situation  the  new 
situation  and  old  response  can  be  connected  together  thru  associative 
shifting.  For  example,  take  the  case  of  a  boy  learning  to  climb  over  a 
wooden  fence.  If  he  goes  at  it  alone  it  will  be  largely  a  matter  of 
"trial  and  error,"'  because  he  will  not  analyze  the  entire  performance 
into  parts  each  of  which  he  is  already  capable  of  doing.  But  if  one 
who  understands  the  movements  to  be  made  stands  by  and  calls  out. 
"Now  climb  the  ladder"  he  will  make  the  movements  previously  asso- 
ciated with  climbing  a  ladder.  "Now  put  one  leg  over  the  top,"  he 
will  respond  by  throwing  one  leg  over  the  top  board,  as  he  has  often 
done  in  climbing  out  of  his  crib.  "Now  cross  your  hands,"  "Now  put  the 
other  leg  over,"  "Now  face  me,"  "Now  climb  down,"  he  will  climb 
over  the  fence  in  a  fairly  smooth  and  efficient  way  the  first  time.  He 
does  so  because  he  has  utilized  old  responses,  one  at  a  time,  and  he  has 
utilized  them  because  the  old  situations  connected  with  them  have  been 
presented  by  the  parent  in  the  proper  sequence.  A  little  practice,  then 
results  in  connecting  all  of  these  responses  together  in  a  string  just  as 
the  responses  in  saying  each  letter  of  the  alphabet  are  connected  to- 
together. 

In  what  has  gone  before  we  have  obtained  a  general  conception  of 
the  learning  process  and  of  the  mechanism  by  which  situations  become 
linked  up  with  responses.  In  the  lessons  to  follow  we  shall  take  up  the 
matter  of  learning  in  greater  detail.  But  the  whole  subject  centers  about 


LESSON  19  97 

this  main  theme  just  expressed  that  the  child's  learning  is  conditioned 
by  the  skill  the  teacher  displays  in  presenting  situations  to  him.  Les- 
sons are  difficult  or  easy  depending  not  on  the  material  of  the  lesson, 
ordinarily,  but  upon  the  order  of  presentation  of  the  details  in  the 
lesson — an  order  depending  upon  what  habits  the  child  has  already 
acquired. 


The  next  class-hour  (the  20th)  will  be  devoted  to  an  exanunatioa 
covering  the  work  of  the  course. 


98  INTRODUCTORY     PSYCHOLOGY     fOR    TEACHERS 

LESSON  20— MEASURING  DIFFERENCES  OF  PERFORMANCE 
AMONG  INDIVIDUALS 

The  general  characteristics  of  learning  have  now  been  presented. 
Differences  between  individuals  have  so  far  been  ignored  in  our  eager- 
ness to  discover  the  common  principles  found  true  of  all  individuals. 

It  is  important  to  stop  now  and  resurvey  some  of  our  material  to 
see  to  what  extent  individuals  are  alike  and  to  what  extent  they  are 
different,  and  in  what  the  differences  consist. 

In  order  to  make  these  studies  effectively  it  is  necessary  to  become 
tamiliar  with  three  mathematical  conceptions,  known  as  the  "average 
deviation"  (discussed  in  this  lesson),  the  "normal  curve  of  distribu- 
\  tion"  (Lesson  25),  and  the  "coefficient  of  correlation"  (Lesson  ^i). 

All  of  these  conceptions  are  basic  to  modern  psychology,  as  well  as 
to  biology,  sociology,  economics,  education,  etc.,  and  are  worth  under- 
standing for  their  own  sake,  as  well  as  for  their  use  as  tools  in  apply- 
ing scientific  principles  to  everyday  problems. 

THE   AVERAGE  DEVIATION. 

Two  fourth  grade  classes  (A  and  B)  were  given  the  same  test.  The 
scores  of  the  twenty  students  were  as  follows : 


CLASS  A 

Pupils 

Grades 

I 

96 

2 

88 

3 

80 

4 

80 

5 

68 

6 

68 

7 

60 

8 

60 

9 

5^ 

10 

56 

II 

52 

12 

52 

13 

44 

14 

40 

rs 

36 

16 

36 

17 

24 

18 

24 

19 

24 

20 

16 

CLASS  B 

Pupils 

Grades 

21 

87 

22 

80 

23 

74 

24 

73 

25 

64 

26 

% 

27 

28 

57 

29 

S6 

30 

55 

31 

53 

32 

H 

33 

46 

34 

43 

35 

41 

36 

40 

37 

32 

38 

31 

39 

30 

40 

25 

Total    1060  1060 

Average  53  53 

When  we  average  the  twenty  grades  in  each  class  we  find  the  aver- 
ages are  the  same,  i.  e.,  53.  But  when  we  look  over  the  scores  we  dis- 
cover immediately  that  the  two  classes  are  not  equal  in  performance. 


LESSON  20  99 

Class  A  has  two  students  superior  to  any  in  Class  B  and  four  students 
inferior  to  the  poorest  in  Class  B.  As  far  as  this  particular  test  is 
concerned  it  shows  that  the  students  in  Class  A  are  more  unlike  among 
themselves  than  arc  the  students  in  Class  B.  In  other  words,  there  are 
greater  differences  in  ability  in  Class  A  than  Class  B. 

Such  differences  in  ability  in  classes  form  an  important  consideration 
in  the  administration  of  a  school.  For  the  more  homogeneous  a  class,  the 
easier  it  is  to  handle.  One  of  the  duties  of  a  principal  is  to  assign 
pupils  so  as  to  have  the  smallest  differences  possible  in  a  class.  We 
shall  come  to  appreciate  this  point  more  fully  in  the  next  few  lessons. 

It  is  clear  that  to  state  that  Classes  A  and  B  have  the  same  average 
is  not  sufficient.  The  total  grades  tell  us  another  important  point.  But 
it  is  extremely  awkward  to  have  to  reproduce  in  a  report  all  of  the 
grades  of  the  pupils.  Is  there  not  some  short-cut  method  by  which 
these  individual  differences  can  be  expressed? 

It  is  just  this,  that  the  "average  deviation"  does  give  us.  It  is  a 
measurement  used  as  a  supplement  to  the  average  in  studying  individ- 
ual differences.  This  measurement  means  exactly  what  the  two  words 
imply — the  average  amount  of  difference  of  the  individuals  making  up 
the  group  from  the  average  of  the  group  as  a  whole.  Consider  care- 
fully how  it  is  obtained  in  the  following  examples  (Table  III).  First, 
the  average  of  the  figures  themselves  is  obtained.  Second,  the  differ- 
ence between  the  average  and  each  separate  figure  is  obtained.  Third, 
the  average  of  these  differences  or  deviations  is  obtained.  This  is  the 
average  deviation  (A.  D.) 

Knowing  the  average  for  each  class  and  the  average  deviations,  i.  e., 
Class  A  Average  53,  A.  D.  18.2 
Class  B  Average  53,  A.  D.  13.7 
we  can  readily  determine,  if  we  do  not  have  the  original  data,  that 
there  was  a  very  great  variation  in  the  individuals.  But  of  the  two 
classes  Class  B  is  more  homogeneous.  We  know  now  for  certain 
that  the  average  does  not  represent  what  all  twenty  pupils  did.  Far 
from  it.  Some  must  have  varied  above  and  below  53  by  more  than 
18.2  (or  in  Class  B  more  than  13.7)  in  order  that  the  average  of  all  the 
deviations  should  be  18.2. 

It  is  mathematically  true  that  very  few  cases  will  ever  differ  from 
the  average  by  more  than  three  times  the  A.  D.  For  example,  it  is 
unlikely  we  would  have  pupils  in  Class  A  with  grades  higher  than  53  + 
(3X18.2)  or  107.6,  or  lower  than  53 — (3X18.2)  or — 1.6;  and  in  Class 
B  higher  than  53+(3Xi3-7)  or  94.1,  or  lower  than  53— (3X13/).  or 
1 1.9.  In  these  particular  classes  we  do  not  have  any  cases  varying  as 
much  as  these  limits. 


lOO 


INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 


TABLE  III.  ILLUSTRATING  THE  METHOD  OF  OBTAINING  THE 
AVERAGE  DEVIATIONS  (A.  D.) 
The  left  hand  of  the  table  illustrates  the  work  involved  in  obtaining  the  A.  D. 
of  the  grades  of  the  20  pupils  in  Class  A,  while  the  right  half  of  the  table 
shows  similarly  the  work  involved  in  obtaining  the  A.  D.  of  the  grades  in 
aass  B. 


CLASS 

A 

CLASS  B 

Pupils 

Scores 

Differences 

Pupils 

Scores 

Differences 

I 

96 

9(>— 53=43 

21 

87 

87-53=34 

2 

88 

88-53  =-35 

22 

80 

80—53=27 

3 

80 

80—53=27 

23 

74 

74—53=21 

4 

80 

80—53=27 

24 

73 

73—53=20 

5 

68 

68-53=15 

25 

64 

64—53=11 

6 

68 

68-53  =  15 

26 

63 

63—53=10 

7 

60 

60—53^  7 

27 

58 

58-53=  5 

8 

60 

60—53=  7 

28 

57 

57—53=  4 

9 

56 

56—53=  3 

29 

56 

56—53=  3 

19 

56 

5^>-53-^  3 

30 

55 

55—53=  2 

II 

52 

53—52=  I 

31 

53 

53—53=  0 

12 

52 

53—52=  I 

32 

52 

53—52=  I 

13 

44 

53—44-=  9 

33 

46 

53—46=  7 

M 

40 

53—40=13 

34 

43 

53—43=10 

IS 

36 

53—36=17 

35 

41 

53—41  =  12 

li 

36 

53—36=17 

36 

40 

53—40=13 

17 

24 

53—24^29 

37 

32 

53—32=21 

18 

24 

53—24=29 

38 

31 

53—31=22 

19 

24 

53—24=29 

39 

30 

53—30=23 

a> 

16 

53—16=37 

40 

25 

53—25=^28 

Total        1060  364 

Av.  S3  18.2 

The  A.  D.  is  18.2 — the  average  of 
the  differences    (deviations). 


1060  274 

53  137 

The  A.  D.  is  13.7 — the  average  of 
the   difTercnces    (deviations). 


PROBLEMS 

Find  the  A.  D.  of  the  grades  in  the  following  classes : 

1.  ClasF!  C  is  composed  of  pupils  i,  3,  5,  7,  9.  n,  13,  15,  17,  and  19 
in  Class  A  given  above. 

2.  Class  D  is  composed  of  pupils  2,  4,  6,  8,  10.  12,  14,  16,  18,  and  20. 

3.  Class  E  is  composed  of  pupils  i  to  5,  and  16  to  20. 

4.  Class  F  is  composed  of  pupils  6  to  15,  inclusive. 

Check  your  answers  with  the  instructor  at  the  next  class-hour.  If 
incorrect  spend  part  of  that  hour  making  sure  you  understand  how  to 
get  an  A.  D. 

NOTE — Bring  co-ordinate  paper  with  you  to  the  next  class-hour. 


LESSON  21--HOW  DO  INDIVIDUALS  DIFFER  IN  LEARNING 
MIRROR-DRAWING  ? 

We  have  so  far  studied  a  number  of  learning  curves.  We  have  dis- 
covered some  general  facts  about  the  process  of  learning, — about  the 
process  of  learning  taken  on  the  average.  But  it  is  worth  while  to  stop 
and  consider  whether  all  individuals  learn  in  the  same  way. 


LESSON    21 


lOI 


We  know  that  people  differ.  We  know  that  they  differ  in  the  way 
they  do  a  certain  lesson,  that  they  differ  in  the  time  it  takes  them  to 
learn  the  lesson,  in  the  way  they  answer  questions  about  the  lesson, 
etc.  We  know  some  get  good  marks  and  some  get  poor  marks.  Why 
are  there  all  these  differences?  What  are  the  causes  of  individual 
differences  ? 

Let  us  consider  just  one  of  these  problems.  Let  us  study  the  data 
from  lo  individuals  in  the  mirror-drawing  experiment  and  see  in  what 
respects  they  are  alike  and  in  what  respects  they  are  different. 

Below  are  given  the  results  of  ten  individuals  (called  A  to  J)  in  the 
mirror-drawing  experiment.  The  records  are  a  combination  of  their 
time  and  error  data.  Endeavor  to  discover  by  yourself,  together  with 
the  help  of  your  partner,  as  many  ways  as  you  can  in  which  these  rec- 
ords are  (i)  alike  and  (2)  different.  That  is,  exactly  what  are  the 
characteristics  which  are  common  to  the  learning  of  these  ten  indi- 
viduals and  on  the  other  hand,  in  what  respects  do  the  records  of  their 
learning  differ? 

TABLE  IV.    RECORDS  OF  TEN  DIFFERENT  INDIVIDUALS  (A— J)  IN 
MIRROR-DRAWING  EXPERIMENT* 
Each  figure  represents  the  time  consumed  in  doing  the  drawing  plus  the  num- 
ber of  errors  that  were  made  in  that  drawing. 


Trials 

A 

B 

C 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

I 

J  . 

Average 

I 

232 

76 

210 

363 

216 

286 

283 

701 

129 

131 

263 

2 

193 

11 

152 

167 

147 

144 

148 

184 

94 

90 

140 

3 

157 

80 

IIS 

128 

160 

109 

69 

148 

98 

75 

114 

4 

115 

68 

108 

143 

113 

141 

66 

144 

91 

67 

106 

5 

133 

70 

108 

132 

no 

97 

76 

98 

84 

75 

98 

6 

88 

57 

115 

125 

103 

99 

59 

00 

69 

64 

87 

7 

87 

65 

96 

121 

90 

97 

50 

87 

67 

67 

83 

8 

90 

62 

92 

149 

91 

1 II 

53 

81 

75 

51 

86 

9 

102 

65 

62 

140 

92 

lOI 

48 

79 

70 

49 

81 

10 

88 

54 

71 

121 

75 

89 

56 

72 

55 

49 

IZ 

u 

102 

59 

68 

121 

90 

115 

56 

71 

66 

51 

80 

12 

88 

63 

59 

112 

74 

87 

51 

58 

57 

55 

70 

13 

87 

51 

56 

95 

64 

90 

50 

63 

55 

47 

66 

14 

79 

57 

58 

95 

70 

87 

44 

56 

59 

46 

65 

IS 

89 

S3 

60 

86 

75 

81 

43 

55 

59 

38 

64 

16 

64 

48 

55 

114 

59 

84 

38 

54 

51 

44 

61 

17 

68 

46 

61 

100 

62 

81 

36 

54 

59 

43 

61 

18 

71 

Z7 

S3 

116 

59 

71 

43 

62 

54 

30 

60 

19 

55 

49 

42 

122 

51 

60 

40 

S3 

52 

31 

56 

20 

61 

50 

58 

85 

52 

70 

35 

60 

40 

36 

55 

The  Use  of  Tables  of  Statistics  z'ersus  Ciirrcs.  W^hen  confronted  with 
a  lot  of  figures  as  in  Table  IV,  one  should  endeavor  by  some  means  or 
other  to  present  them  in  a  diagram  or  set  of  curves.  No  one  can  grasp 
the  significance  of  a  complex  set  of  figures  from  studying  the  figures 

•The  d:i.tn  nresented  here  were  nctuaUv  obtained  from  ten  inciividuals.  The  indi- 
viduals have  been  so  selected,  however,  that  the  conclusions  obtained  from  these  data 
will  agree  very  closely  with  similar  calculations  based  on  a  study  of  56  individuals. 
The  averages  obtained  from  56  men  and  women  are  respectively: — 242,  159,  137,  120, 
114,  99,  94,  86,  88,  83,  79,   76,   74,   74,   70,   70,   68,   64,  64,   63. 


I02  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    l^OR    TliACllERS 

themselves  with  anywhere  near  the  ease  that  he  can  from  seeing  those 
same  figures  set  forth  in  curves.  In  general,  curves  should  be  used 
for  discovering  or  for  presenting  general  relationships,  while  tables 
should  be  used  when  the  facts  need  to  be  ascertained  very  accurately. 

First  of  all,  then,  plot  the  ten  sets  of  figures.  Two  or  three  curves 
can  be  drawn  on  the  same  sheet  of  paper.  Use  the  regular  codrdinate 
paper.  Count  one  square  as  equal  to  lo  units  of  your  data  on  your 
vertical  axis,  thus  giving  you  a  maximum  of  500  units.  On  your  hori- 
zontal axis  indicate  a  trial  at  every  line.  Consider  all  records  over  500 
units  as  equal  to  500  and  plot  them  accordingly. 

Now  from  a  study  of  your  curves  and  your  table  ascertain  whether 
all  ten  agree  or  disagree  on  the  following  points : — 

1 .  Do  they  show  improvement  with  practice  ? 

2.  Do  they  show  the  same  initial  efficiency  ? 

3.  Do  they  show  the  same  final  efficiency? 

4.  Is  a  greater  gain  made  during  the  first  five  trials  than   ciiuMng 

the  last  five  ? 

5.  Is  progress  regular  or  irregular? 

6.  Do  all  curves  show  an  equal  gain? 

Back  up  each  of  your  assertions  with  proof  from  your  data. 

Second,  if  we  should  arrange  the  ten  individuals  according  to  their 
initial  ability  in  this  performance  we  would  have  them  in  this  order: — 
B(76),  1(129),  J(i3i).  C(2io),  E(2i6),  A(232).  6(283),  F(286). 
D(363),  and  H(70i).  Copy  this  order  onto  a  sheet  of  paper  so  that 
the  letters  will  appear  in  a  column  one  under  the  other.  Now  arrange 
the  ten  individuals  according  to  their  final  ability  in  this  performance 
in  a  similar  column.  Study  the  relationship  between  the  two  columns 
of  letters  and  then  decide  whether  individuals  who  are  best  at  the  start 
are  best  at  the  end  or  not.  Does  your  conclusion  hold  good  for  all  ten 
or  for  only  the  majority  ?  If  you  have  exceptions  to  your  rule,  can  you 
explain  why  there  should  be  these  exceptions?  Make  a  further  compar- 
ison (a)  between  the  order  of  proficiency  at  the  start  and  the  order  at 
the  tenth  trial,  and  (b)  between  the  order  at  the  tenth  trial  and  the 
order  at  the  last  trial. 

Do  you  think  that  B.  who  is  best  at  the  start  and  fourth  at  the  cud, 
and  I,  who  was  second  at  the  start  and  third  at  the  end,  will  do  better, 
equal  to,  or  poorer  than  D  and  H  in  arithmetic,  geography,  running  a 
grocery  store,  or  driving  a  plow?  Explain.  What  significance,  if  any. 
do  you  think  there  is  in  the  superiority  of  B  and  I  over  D  and  H  in  this 
performance?  How  would  G  compare  in  these  respects  with  the  four 
(i.  e.,  B,  I,  Dand  H?) 

Hand  in  your  report  at  the  next  class-hour,  written  up  in  the  usual 
manner. 


LESSON  22.     INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  GENERAL  SUBJECT 
OF  INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES* 

Individuals  differ  very  materially  with  respect  to  every  human  trait. 
If  we  compare  them  with  respect  to  height,  or  weight,  or  muscular 
strength,  or  lung  capacity,  or  eyesight,  or  hearing,  or  color  of  hair,  or 
spelling  ability,  or  musical  ability,  or  inventive  power,  or  any  other 
trait,  we  find  that  they  all  differ  from  one  another  in  these  respects. 
Wher  one  is  at  first  confronted  with  all  these  differences  one  is  very 
a['t  to  become  utterly  confused  and  feel  that  there  is  no  order  at  all  in 
this  chaos  of  human  differences.  The  person  who  is  the  tallest  is  not 
always  the  heaviest.  In  fact,  he  may  be  very  thin  and  weigh  compara- 
tivel}-  little.  The  person  who  has  the  best  eyesight  may  have  any  color 
of  hair  and  may  have  very  good  or  very  poor  hearing.  The  musician 
may  also  be  a  poet  or  he  may  be  unable  to  express  himself  \ccy  clearly 
in  an)  way  except  on  his  musical  instrument. 

Still  as  we  progress  in  our  study  of  these  differences  we  come  to  see 
that  all  is  not  chaos,  that  there  is  some  system  underlying  the  matter. 
As  yet  science  has  worked  out  but  few  of  the  great  laws  involved.  But 
a  start  has  been  made,  and  already  we  have  been  helped  in  understand- 
ing the  peculiarities  of  our  friends  and  pupils. 

There  is  no  more  important  subject  for  the  teacher  in  psychology 
than  this  subject  of  individual  differences.  If  we  were  all  alike  then 
teaching  would  be  a  comparatively  easy  subject.  We  would  need  to 
know  just  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  di  nensions  and  require- 
ments of  the  standard  and  then  devise  one  set  of  methods  which  would 
fit  in  every  case  and  inevitably  produce  good  spellers,  writers,  etc.  But 
people  are  not  alike.  And  this  fact  means  that  no  one  method  will 
work  with  every  individual.  Methods  of  teaching  when  applied  to 
certain  children  will  produce  the  desired  result  and  when  applied  to 
other  children  will  produce  no  result  worth  while  or  possibly  just  the 
opposite  result  from  that  desired.  Undoubtedly  some  of  the  children 
who  fail  in  the  4th  Grade  fail  because  the  wrong  methods  were  ap- 
plied to  them.  If  other  methods  had  been  applied  some  of  these  fail- 
ures would  have  succeeded  but,  on  the  other  hand,  some  of  those  who 
succeeded  would  then  have  failed.  What  is  needed  today  is  that 
teachers  become  expert  in  understanding  the  differences  in  children 


*CLASS-HOUR 

IN    CLASS 

WRITE    UP 

READ 

22 
23 

Discuss,  Lesson  21 
Exper.    Lesson    23 

Lesson    23 

Lesson    22 

103 


104  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TKACHERS 

and  so  be  able  to  apply  inteliigentiy  varying  methods  to  varying  needs. 
Without  doubt  the  teacher  of  the  future  is  going  to  become  a  diagnos- 
tician in  much  the  same  way  that  a  physician  is.  The  latter  studies 
symptoms,  diagnoses  the  diseases,  prescribes  the  treatment,  and  if  he 
is  fortunate,  directs  that  treatment  until  the  patient  is  cured.  The 
teacher  of  the  future  will  be  one  who  will  understand  the  peculiarities 
of  children  and  on  the  basis  of  these  peculiarities  or  differences,  diag- 
nose the  reason  as  to  why  the  child  is  not  developing  properly,  pre- 
scribe the  treatment,  and  carry  it  out  to  a  successful  end.  This  is 
exactly  what  is  now  being  attempted  in  our  special  classes  for  the  de- 
fective. And  altho  possibly  it  is  easier  to  do  this  with  defectives  than 
with  normal  children,  yet  society  cannot  permit  the  poorest  and  most 
worthless  one-tenth  of  our  children  to  have  a  better  type  of  teaching 
than  that  given  to  the  remainder,  who  will  have  to  carry  not  only  their 
own  burdens,  but  also  a  large  share  of  the  burdens  of  the  defective 
class. 

Now  let  us  turn  and  consider  such  facts  and  principles  as  we  can 
discover  concerning  individual  differences. 

INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES,  BASED  ON   MIRROR-DRAWING  EXPERIMENT 

It  is  very  clear  from  a  study  of  the  learning  curves  of  the  ten  indi- 
viduals recorded  in  Lesson  21  that  tliey  all  agree  in  that : — 

1.  They  show  improvement  with  practice. 

2.  They  make  greater  gain  at  the  start  than  at  the  end  of  the  practice. 

3.  They  progress  irregularly,  i.  e.,  they  do  not  always  advance  hut 
sometimes  do  more  poorly  than  in  the  preceding  trial.  We  shall  find 
after  studying  many  examples  of  learning  that  these  three  facts  remain 
true.  Even  tho  individuals  differ  tremendously,  yet  they  do  not  differ 
as  regards  these  respects.  Continued  practice  does  produce  improve- 
ment in  a  performance  in  the  long  run,  but  it  may  not  be  apparent 
when  tivo  or  three  or  even  more  successive  trials  are  alone  compeared. 
Improvement  is  also  greater  at  the  start  of  practice  than  at  the  cn4. 

On  the  other  hand,  individuals  differ  as  regards: — 

1.  Initial  efficiency. 

2.  Final  efficiency. 

3.  Amount  of  improvement. 

This  is  clear  from  the  data  in  Table  IV.     It  will  be  found  to  be  true 
when  any  set  of  data  is  studied. 

THE  USE  OF  THE  AVERAGE  AS  A  MEASURE  OF  A  GROUP 

We  can  obtain  an  average  from  the  records  of  a  large  or  small  num- 
ber of  individuals.  Such  an  average  record  is  given  in  the  last  column 
of  Table  IV.  \\'l.r;-.  we  study  ihi.s  average  record  from  ten  individuals 
we  realize  that  it  is  the  best  expression  possible  of  the  entire  ten  rec- 


LESSON    22  105 

ords.  But  it  is  not  typical  of  what  any  one  person  would  do.  No  one 
of  the  ten  did  the  mirror-drawing  in  263  units  (of  time  and  accuracy 
combined).  The  nearest  to  this  record  was  F,  who  did  the  experiment 
in  286  units,  differing  thereby  from  the  average  by  23  units.  On  the 
other  hand,  B  (the  best  of  the  ten)  beat  this  average  by  187  units,  and 
H  (the  poorest  of  the  ten)  was  poorer  than  the  average  by  438  units. 
Clearly  a  great  many  interesting  facts  are  covered  up  or  lost  by  re- 
ferring to  the  average  as  an  expression  of  what  this  group  of  ten  in- 
dividuals could  do.  By  knowing  only  that  the  group  averaged  263 
units  for  its  first  trial  we  would  have  no  knowledge  of  how  much  the 
ten  had  differed  or  varied  from  each  other. 

We  have  come  also  to  realize  that  any  individual  learning  curve  is 
not  perfectly  smooth  but  has  a  great  variety  of  fluctuations  in  it.  In 
other  words,  altho  a  person  may  be  progressing,  his  successive  perform- 
ances may  not  necessarily  show  this.  Sometimes  he  gains,  sometimes 
he  loses,  but  on  the  whole  he  is  advancing.  Now  our  average  record 
of  the  ten  individuals  in  the  mirror-drawing  experiment  is  singularly 
free  from  such  fluctuations.  Only  twice  does  the  curve  rise  and  then 
only  for  slight  amounts.  From  a  study  of  the  average  curve  we  would 
be  led  to  the  false  notion  that  improvement  is  very  steady  and  even. 
But  such,  we  realize,  is  not  the  case.  Evidently,  then,  the  average, 
altho  very  useful,  is  not  a  sufficient  measure  of  a  class  performance  to 
tell  us  all  that  we  need  to  know  about  that  class. 

Consider  another  example  taken  from  a  survey  of  the  Demonstration 
School  of  George  Peabody  College  for  Teachers.* 

All  of  the  children  in  Grades  IV  to  VIII  were  tested  with  the  Kansas 
Silent  Reading  Test.  This  test  consists  of  a  number  of  paragraphs  like 
the  following: — 

NO.  I 
VALUE  The  air  near  the  ceiling  of  a  room  is  warm,  while  that  on  the 

i.o  floor  is  cold.     Two  boys  are  in  the  room,  James  on  the  floor  and 

Harry  on  a  box  eight  feet  high.  Which  boy  has  the  warmer  place? 


NO.  2 
VALUE  If  gray  is  darker  than  white  and  black  is  darker  than  gray,  what 

1.3  color  of  those  named  in  this  sentence  is  lighter  than  gray? 


NO.  3 
VALUE  We  can  see  through  glass,  so  we  call  it  transparent.    We  cannot 

1.6  see  through  iron,  so  we  call  it  opaque.    Is  black  ink  opaque,  or  is  it 

transparent? 


•C.   C,   Danny.   "The  Peabody   Demonstration   School   in   the   Light   of   Standard   Test»." 
Unpublished   thesis   in   the   library   of   George    Peabody    College    for   Teachers. 


VII 

VIII 

i6.5 

23.4 

16.5 

19.2 

106  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

The  children  are  allowed  five  minutes  in  which  to  read  over  as  many 
of  these  paragraphs  as  they  can  and  to  execute  the  directions  in  each. 
They  are  scored  in  terms  of  the  paragraphs  to  which  they  have  cor- 
rectly reacted,  each  paragraph  counting  proportionately  to  its  deter- 
mined difficulty  or  value. 

In  Table  V  are  presented  the  average  scores  of  the  five  grades,  to- 
gether with  the  norms  for  those  grades.  A  norm  is  a  standard  set  for 
a  grade  after  testing  thousands  of  children  so  as  to  know  exactly  what 
the  average  is.  From  these  figures  it  is  clear  that  with  respect  to  this 
method  of  testing  silent  reading  the  children  in  the  five  grades  are  su- 
perior to  children  thruout  the  country,  as  in  all  the  grades  except  VII 
the  average  of  the  grade  is  superior  to  the  norm  and  in  Grade  VII  the 
figures  are  equal  to  the  norm. 

TABLE  V.    AVERAGE  SCORES  AND   NORMS,  GRADES   IV  TO   VIII 

Kansas  Silent  Reading  Scale. 
GRADES  IV  V  VI 

AVERAGES  13.0  15.7  16.8 

NORMb  9.4  13.4  13.8 

As  has  been  said  the  scores  "show  the  school  to  be  in  most  excellent 
condition."     However,  if  this  is  all  that  the  class-room  teacher  is  to 
learn  from  the  test,  rhe  very  knowledge  that  should  enable  her  to  give 
her  pupils,  as  individuals,  the  best  possible  instruction  will  have  been 
missed.     The  scores,  in  rank  order,  of  all  the  pupils  in  the  various 
grades  are  shown  in  Table  VI.     The  data  given  in  this  table  show 
some  astounding  individual  differences.    For  instance,  the  lowest  score 
in  the  fourth  grade  is  less  than  one-sixth  of  the  highest  score  in  the 
same  grade;  60%  of  all  the  pupils  in  the  fourth  grade  made  a  better 
score  than  the  poorest  score  in  the  eighth  grade;  iy%  of  all  the  pupils 
in  the  fourth  grade  made  a  better  score  than  the  norm  for  the  eighth 
grade ;  while  all  the  pupils,  except  six,  in  the  fourth  grade  made  a  bet- 
ter score  than  the  lowest  score  in  the  sevcMth  grade.     In  general,  the 
highest  score  made  in  each  grade  is  approximately  200%  of  the  norm 
for  that  grade ;  while  in  three  grades,  IV,  V,  and  VII,  the  lowest  score 
is  less  than  half  the  norm. 

"Since  reading  is  fundamental  and  basic  to  most  of  the  other  studies 
in  the  school,  this  wide  variation  in  individual  scores  indicates  the  com- 
plexity of  the  problem  confronting  the  class-room  teacher.  Why  did 
the  poorest  fourth  grade  pupil  make  only  a  score  of  3.9,  and  the  best 
one  make  24?  Is  one  endowed  by  nature  with  six  times  as  much  read- 
ing power  as  the  other?  Did  the  form  and  manner  of  instruction  in 
reading  fit  one  six  times  as  well  as  the  other?  Or  is  the  wide  difference 
due  to  other  causes?  The  facts  of  Table  VI  raise  innumerable  admin- 
istrative problems.     If  the  school  is  to  be  organized  so  that  each  indi- 


' 

LESSON 

22 

107 

TABLE    VI.    INDIVIDUAL 

SCORES 

BY     RANK 

ORDER, 

GRADES 

IV  TO  VII] 

Kansas  Silent  Re 

■adi 

luj  Test, 

GRADES 

Pupil 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

Vlll 

I 

24.0 

28.1 

34-6 

32.6 

34.6 

2 

21.7 

25.4 

32.2 

28.3 

34.6 

3 

20.3 

23-3 

26.3 

24.1 

31.6 

4 

19.9 

22.3 

24.0 

22.3 

31.6 

5 

19.7 

22.3 

234 

21.3 

30.3 

6 

18.4 

21.4 

22.5 

20.7 

28.3 

7 

16.7 

21.4 

22.3 

20.0 

27.3 

8 

167 

19.7 

21.0 

19-3 

26.3 

9 

15-5 

19-3 

20.1 

18.S 

22.3 

10 

15.1 

18.4 

19.1 

17.7 

21.7 

II 

15.0 

18.3 

18.4 

17.7 

20.7 

12 

14.8 

17.3 

18.1 

17-7 

19.7 

13 

14.4 

17.1 

17.5 

174 

t8.6 

14 

134 

16.1 

16.1 

17.1 

18.4 

15 

131 

16.1 

14.8 

16. 1 

154 

i6 

12.8 

15.8 

14.8 

15-8 

13.8 

17 

12.8 

15-4 

144 

157 

13.0 

i8 

12.5 

13.4 

144 

15.1 

12.3 

19 

11.3 

13-4 

143 

14. 1 

20 

11.2 

12.9 

13.8 

13.2 

21 

10.4 

12.6 

13-5 

11.5 

22 

9.0 

12.4 

134 

11.2 

23 

9-0 

12.4 

13-2 

10.6 

-'4 

8.9 

12.2 

12.8 

10.6 

25 

6.2 

11.7 

II. I 

8.8 

26 

6.2 

10.6 

10.9 

8.8 

1 

27 

6.2 

10.6 

10.7 

8.8 

r 

28 

6.2 

8.9 

9.1 

8.1 

29 

5-7 

8.7 

8.5 

30 

3-9 

8.5 

84 

31 

8.5 

8.1 

32 

6.3 

Average 

13-0 

15-7 

16.8 

16.5 

234 

vidual  pupil  may  get  maximal  good  from  the  instruction  given,  teacher, 
principal,  superintendent,  school  board,  and  community  must  realize 
this  wide  variation  and  cooperate  in  the  organization  and  administra- 
tion of  a  system  which  takes  individual  differences  into  consideration." 

THE  USE  OE  THE  A.  D.  AS  A  MEASURE  OF  INDlVmUAL  DlFEERENCES. 

We  have  seen  thus  far  that  the  average  is  not  a  sufficient  measure  for 
presenting  the  proficiency  of  a  group  of  individuals.  And  in  Lesson  »d 
some  of  the  advantages  of  the  average  deviation  were  presented.  The 
subject  warrants  further  consideration. 

The  average  of  the  initial  trials  in  the  case  of  the  ten  individuals  re- 
corded in  Table  IV  is  263 ;  the  average  deviation  is  118.  The  average 
of  the  final  trials  is  55  and  the  average  deviation  12.  Knowing  the 
A.  D.  as  well  as  the  average  for  the  initial  and  final  trials  in  the  mirror- 
drawing  experiment  we  can  readily  determine,  if  we  do  not  have  the 


108  INTRODUCTORY    I'SYCHOLOCV    I'OR    TEACHERS 

original  data,  that  there  was  a  very  great  variation  in  the  individ- 
uals at  the  start,  and  still  considerable  difference  in  their  proficienqr 
at  the  end  of  the  practice.  We  know  that  the  ten  individuals  differed 
on  the  average  1 18  units  from  the  average  of  263  units.  We  know  now 
for  certain  that  the  average  does  not  represent  what  all  ten  individuals 
did.  Far  from  it.  Some  must  have  varied  above  and  below  263  by 
more  than  118  in  order  that  the  average  of  all  the  deviations  should 
be  iiS.  On  the  other  hand  we  can  tell,  by  knowing  that  the  final  trial 
averaged  55  with  an  A.  D.  of  12,  that  the  ten  must  all  be  fairly  close  to 
the  average,  probably  none  varying  more  than  three  times  the  A.  D.  or 
by  more  than  36.  That  is,  no  record  would  probably  be  better  than 
19(55 — 36)  or  poorer  than  91(55+36).  (As  an  actual  fact  among  56 
men  and  women  the  best  record  has  been  33(55 — 2  times  the  A.  D.) 
and  the  poorest  was  118(55+5  times  the  A.  D.)  But  there  are  only  two 
records  in  the  56  which  are  poorer  than  three  times  the  A,  D.,  (i.  e., 
91) — one  being  the  118  already  referred  to  and  the  other  being  03). 

In  a  similar  way  the  A.  D.  may  be  determined  for  the  data  in  Table 
VI  concerning  the  silent  reading  ability  of  children  in  the  five  grades. 
We  then  have : — 

Av.  Score,  Silent  Reading.  Grade  IV  13.0  A.  D.  4.2 

"      V.  157  '■  4-5 

"     VI.  16.8  "  S3 

"    VI 1.  16.5  "  4.5 

"    \'irr._       23.4  '\  6.4 

The  presence  of  these  average  deviations  helps  us  considerably  in 
estimating  how  much  the  various  children  in  the  two  classes  differ  from 
their  average. 

The  more  one  uses  this  measure — the  .\.  D. — the  more  it  conies  to 
mean ;  but  still  it  never  does  tell  as  much  as  one  can  tell  from  the  original 
data  themselves  when  displayed  in  table  form  as  in  Table  VL 

RELATIONSHIP    OF    INITIAL    AND    FINAL    ABILITY. 

V/hen  the  ten  individuals  are  arranged  in  "order  of  merit"  according 
to  initial  and  final  ability  it  is  clear  that  on  the  whole  those  who  are  best 
at  the  start  are  best  at  the  end.  G  is  markedly  an  exception  to  the 
rule,  starting  at  sixth  place  and  ending  first.  H  also  gains  four  places, 
progressing  from  tenth  to  sixth  place.  G  was  actually  a  student  of 
niarkediy  superior  ability,  but  noted  for  awkwardness  of  movement. 
He  tackled  the  experiment  with  misgivings  of  his  ability  to  do  it, 
thinking  it  was  largely  a  feat  of  arm  movement.  He  learned  very 
rapidly  and  surprised  himself  with  his  performance. 

Knowing  nothing  of  these  ten  individuals  but  their  initial  scores, 
it  would  be  safer  to  hire  the  first  two  to  work  in  a  store  or  on  a  farm, 
or  to  gamble  on  their  scholastic  record  that  on  the  last  two.  This  is  true, 


LESSON   23  109 

because  the  test  does  measure  general  ability  to  some  extent.  But  be- 
cause the  test  is  far  from  a  perfect  measure  of  ability,  individuals  hired 
on  the  basis  of  it  would  not  always  come  up  to  expectations.  This  we 
see  in  the  case  of  G,  who,  on  the  basis  of  the  final  score,  is  better  ihan 
either  B  or  I. 

LESSON  23.— HOW  DO  DIFFERENT  GROUPS  OF  INDIVID- 
UALS DIFFER  WITH  RESPECT  TO  THEIR  LEARNING 
SIMPLE  ARITHMETICAL   COMBINATIONS? 

In  Lessons  21  and  22  we  made  a  preliminary  study  of  individual 
differences  as  displayed  in  mirror-drawing.  In  this  lesson  we  shall 
devote  our  attention  to  how  individuals  differ  in  the  simplest  processes 
of  arithmetic,  i.  e.,  simple  addition  and  simple  multiplication.  Some  of 
the  questions  involved  are: — How  do  I  differ  from  other  adults  in  a 
working  knowledge  of  the  multiplication  table?  Am  I  more  or  less 
rapid  in  my  work  than  the  average  adult  ?  Am  I  more  or  less  accurate 
than  the  average  adult?  How  do  adults  differ  from  children  in  these 
respects?  How  do  children  differ  among  themselves?  Besides  ascer- 
taining some  of  the  facts  in  these  cases,  we  shall  commence  to  ask 
ourselves  the  further  question. — what  is  the  cause  of  these  differences? 

First  of  all  the  members  of  the  laboratory  section  will  use  the  B- 
Test  blank,  on  which  appears  eighty  simple  problems  in  addition,  such 

4         1 
as  7         3,  etc.    The  class  will  be  given  one  minute  in  which  to  do  as 

many  of  these  problems  as  they  can  do.  After  that  the  class  will  be 
tested  as  to  their  proficiency  in  multiplication,  using  the  BX-Test 
blank.  The  papers  will  then  be  scored  and  the  averages  and  average 
deviations  of  the  two  tests  worked  out  for  the  class.  When  that  is 
finished  the  laboratory  pairs  will  proceed  as  usual  by  themselves,  tak- 
ing up  the  various  parts  of  the  assignment  in  order  and  doing  as  much 
as  they  can  during  the  remainder  of  the  hour.  As  each  part  is  fin- 
ished it  will  be  advisable  for  the  members  of  the  class  to  consult  with 
the  laboratory  instructor  in  order  to  make  sure  that  they  have  under- 
stood the  instructions  and  have  executed  them  properly. 

PART    I.      PROBLEM.      HOW  DO   ADULTS   DIFFER   AS  TO   THEIR  ABILITY   TO, 
SOLVE  SIMPLE  ADDITION  AND  MULTIPLICATION  PROBLEMS? 

Apparatus.    A  B-Test  and  a  BX-Test  Blank,  watch. 

Procedure.  When  all  in  the  laboratory  section  are  ready,  turn  face 
down  the  page  on  which  the  B-Test  is  given.  The  instructor  will  give 
two  signals,  "Get  Ready,"  and  "Go."    At  the  latter  signal,  turn  the 


no  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

sheet  over  and  solve  as  many  problems  as  you  can  during  the  one 

minute  allowed  you.  At  the  signal,  "Stop,"  stop  your  work  wherever 
you  are  and  hold  up  your  right  hand,  so  that  the  instructor  can  have 
visible  proof  that  you  have  actually  stopped.  (These  instructions  you 
will  undoubtedly  have  cause  to  use  later  on  yourself,  as  a  teacher. 
You  now  have  an  opportunity  to  know  how  it  feels  to  take  a  test  of 
this  sort.) 

Trade  papers  with  some  other  member  of  the  class.  Tiic  in- 
structor will  then  call  out  the  correct  answers  to  the  addition  problems. 
Every  mistake  on  the  paper  before  you  should  be  indicated  by  drawing 
a  conspicuous  circle  around  it.  Indicate  at  the  top  of  the  page  the 
total  number  of  problems  performed,  the  number  incorrect,  anJ  the 
number  correct.  A  convenient  form  for  doing  this  is,  "65 — 3=62," 
or  "60 — 0=60,"  where  the  first  number  indicates  the  number  per- 
formed, the  second  the  number  wrong,  and  the  third  the  number  correct. 

Return  the  papers  to  their  owners,  who  then  may  look  them  over 
to  see  if  they  have  been  corrected  properly.  In  case  of  a  controversy  the 
scorer  should  be  the  final  judge.  Ambiguously  written  figures  should 
be  scored  against. 

Repeat  the  above  with  the  BX-Test  blank  to  test  ability  in  simple 
multiplication. 

Results.  The  instructor  will  now  record  the  data  of  the  two  tests 
on  the  board  and  with  the  aid  of  the  class  determine  the  averages  and 
average  deviations  of  the  class.  Any  errors  characteristic  of  the  class 
should  also  be  recorded. 

Interpretation  and  Application.  Combine  into  one  general  discussion 
at  the  close  of  your  report  the  interpretations  and  applications  to  this 
problem  and  those  that  follow. 


LESSON    23  III 

B  TEST— ADDITION 

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112  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TRACHEKS 

BX-TEST— MULTIPLICATION 

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LKSSON'    23  1 1.3 

PART  2 — PROBLEM.     HOW  DO  ADULTS  DIFFER  FROM  4TH  GRADE  CHILDREN 

IN    THEIR   ABILITY   TO    SOLVE    SIMPLE    MULPLICATION 

AND    ADDITION    PROBLEMS? 

Apparatus.     The  data  in  Table  VII. 

TABLE    VII.     SHOWING   AVERAGE    NUMBER   OF   ADDITION    AND 

MULTIPLICATION    PROBLEMS    SOLVED    CORRECTLY    IN    ONE 

WIKL'TE    BY     ADULTS    AND    4TH    GRADE    CHILDREN    IN 

10    (AND    14)    TRIALS    ON    DIFFERENT    DAYS. 

ADDITION    (B-Test)  MULTIPLICATION    (BX-Test) 


Trials 

Adults 

4th  Grade 
Children 

Adults 

4th  Grade 
Children 

I 

59 

19 

40 

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2 

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21 

50 

15 

3 

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Note :      The    chihlren    w 

■ere    allowed    tvv 

0   minutes    in 

Stead    of    one 

minute  to  work  at  the  blank.    Their  records  are  expressed  in  terms  of 
what  they  did  in  i  minute     i.  e.,  half  of  their  2-minute  record. 

Procedure  and  Results.  Plot  these  data.  Arrange  your  vertical 
scale  so  that  it  will  extend  from  o  to  80.  Connect  the  points  on  the 
addition  curves  with  a  solid  line,  and  the  points  on  the  multiplication 
curves  with  a  dotted  line. 

PART  3 — PROBLEM.      HOW  DO  NORMAL  4TH  GRADE  CHILDREN  DIFFER  FROM 

BADLY  RETARDED  CHILDREN  OF  THE  SAME  AGE  IN  THEIR  ABILITY  TO 

SOLVE    SIMPLE    ADDITION    PROBLEMS? 

Apparatus.  The  data  in  Table  VII  and  the  following  information: — 
A  class  of  2B  Grade  children  were  tested  by  Miss  M.  Phillips  with  the 
B-Test.  These  children  averaged  9!/^  years,  (just  what  our  4th  Grade 
averages).  They  had  repeated  the  work  of  the  first  and  second  grades 
.<^everal  times  and  were  considered  by  the  authorities  to  be  practicallv 
hopeless.  They  were  put  (i)  thru  the  B-Test  on  ten  successive  days; 
(2)  thru  the  C-Test  (identical  to  the  B-Test  except  for  the  combina- 
tions which  were  new)  on  ten  more  days;  (3)  given  10  minutes  drill 
on  15  successive  days  on  the  problems  of  the  B-Test;  and  (4)  again 
given  the  B-Test  for  10  successive  days.  Parts  (2)  and  (3)  represent 
170  minutes  drill  devoted  to  simple  addition  problems  distributed  over 
25  days.  The  average  records  of  the  class  in  parts  (i)  and  (4)  with 
the  B-Test  are  as  follows : — 


114  INTKODLCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

Trials  Part  i  Part  4 

I  4  7 

25  8 

35  8 

4  5  9 

56  9 

6  6  10 

7  6  10 

8  «  10 

9  7" 
10  7  n 

Procedure,  Etc.    Handle  these  data  as  in  Part  2.    Bear  in  mind  that 

the  averages   (i.   e.,  norms)    for  the  Demonstration   School   and   for 

aduHs  were  as  follows : — 

GRADES    NORMS  IN  ADDITION        NORMS  IN  MULTIPLICATION 
(B-Test)  (BX-Test) 

Oct.,  191S  Feb.,  1917  Oct.,  1915  Feb.,  1917 


III 

— 

15 

IV 

V 
VI 

19 
26 

29 

37 
40 

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18 

44 

/III 
IX 

20 

43 
49 

— 

6 

II 

20 

17 

26 

— 

25 

27 

27 

30 

30 

— 

30 

Adult.s  59  59  40  40 

The  differences  in  the  norms  on  the  two  different  dates  is  due,  first 
to  the  fact  that  in  the  second  case  the  grades  had  had  three  months 
more  «chcolinQ^  by  February  than  in  October  an;!,  second,  to  the  fact 
that  during  the  interval  a  considerable  amount  of  time  was  spent  in  the 
school  speeding  the  children  up.  That  this  was  \ery  much  n'^eded  is 
clearly  apparent  from  the  figures.  In  justice  to  the  Demonstration 
School  it  should  be  noted  here  that  the  first  set  of  norms  was  taken  ver\- 
shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  school  and  the  poor  work  represented 
the  training  these  children  had  received  prior  to  entering  the  school. 

Procedure  and  Results.  Plot  the  learning  curves  of  the  mentally  de- 
fective children  on  the  same  graph  as  your  other  curves. 

Note :  In  these  experiments  the  same  blank  was  used  each  day. 
Some  of  the  learning  consists  in  more  or  less  learning  of  answers  in  a 
regular  order.  If  a  different  arrangement  of  the  little  problems  had  been 
presented  each  time,  the  curves  would  not  have  gone  up  so  rapidly. 

Interpretation  of  the  three  parts  to  this  problem.  What  do  you  de- 
duce as  to  how  various  classes  of  individuals  differ  with  respect  to 
learning  simple  addition  and  multiplication  combinations?  Have  these 
three  groups  of  individuals  become  more  or  less  alike  as  the  result  of 
ten  days'  practice?  What  effect  has  this  fact  upon  our  present  plan  of 
school  administration? 

Application.    Hand  in  your  report  at  the  next  class-hour. 


LESSON  24.     THE  THREE  CAUSES  OF  INDIVIDUAL  DIFFER- 
ENCES—ENVIRONMENT, HEREDITY,  AND  TRAINING* 

We  liavc  noted  already  that  all  individuals  are  alike  in  that  they 
profit  by  practice;  that  they  show  greater  gain  at  the  beginning  of 
practice  than  at  any  later  time;  and  that  the  rate  of  improvement  is 
irregular,  an  individual  showing  remarkable  gains  with  certain  trials 
and  equally  surprising  "slumps"  with  other  trials.  We  have  also  noted 
that  individuals  do  differ  as  to  (i)  initial  performance,  (2)  final  per- 
formance, and  (3)  the  amount  of  improvement  resulting  from  any 
given  amount  of  practice.  Let  us  now  consider  these  differences  in 
greater  detail. 

ENVIRONMENT,  HEREDITY  AND  TRAINING 

A  human  being  may  be  thought  of,  first  of  all,  as  being  produced  by 
the  two  factors — heredity  and  enmronment.  He  is  a  living-  organism 
that  reacts  to  the  situations  that  confront  him  in  life.  The  situations 
(environment)  are  the  immediate  cause  of  his  reactions — they  initiate 
the  reaction  but  they  do  not  condition  that  reaction.  In  other  words, 
the  environment  brings  about  reactions  but  what  those  reactions  are 
are  determined  by  the  laws  of  the  organism  itself.  What  a  person  does 
during  any  day  of  his  life  is  determined  by  his  environment,  then,  and 
by  his  innate  life.  If  it  is  summer  time  and  there  is  a  swimming  hole 
in  the  vicinity,  he  may  or  may  not  go  swimming.  If  there  is  no  other 
factor  in  his  environment,  such  as  a  dance,  to  lead  him  to  do  otherwise, 
he  quite  likely  will  go  swimming.  Yet  he  may  not.  Some  individuals 
do  not  respond  to  swimming  situations  by  going  in  swimming.  Their 
natures  are  so  constituted  that  they  do  not  receive  pleasure  from  such 
experience  and  so  do  not  seek  it.  One  of  the  writer's  boyhood  friends 
—the  best  pitcher  in  town — never  went  swimming.  He  didn't  enjov 
it.  Take  another  example  from  real  life.  A  German  boy,  the  son  of 
a  brewer,  living  in  a  German  community,  never  drank  beer.  Such 
a  situation,  as  confronted  him  daily,  would  lead  most  individuals  to 
drink  beer.  But  he  didn't.  He  did  not  like  it,  so  he  didn't  drink.  In 
the  Holmgren  test  for  color  blindness  one  is  given  a  hundred  or  more 
different  colored  skeins  of  yarn.  He  is  then  given  a  large  skein  of 
red  yarn  and  told  to  pick  out  all  the  little  skeins  of  similar  color.  The 
ordinary  individual  picks  out  only  red  skeins.  But  a  color-blind  person 
picks  out  not  only  red  but  also  brown  and  gray  skeins.    And  if  there 


♦CLASS-HOUR 

IN    CLASS 

WRITE    UP 

READ 

Lesson    24 

24 
25 

Discuss,     Lesson    23 
Exper.    Lesson    25 

Lesson    25 

"5 


Il6  IXTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACIlKRS 

happens  to  be  a  green  skein  of  the  same  brightness  as  his  red  standard 
he  will  pick  this  out  also.  The  same  situation  leads  to  two  quite  dif- 
ferent reactions  here.  The  reactions  are  different  because  of  the  dif- 
ference in  the  development  of  the  eyes  of  the  two  individuals.  The 
eyes  of  one  individual  are  so  constituted  that  red  and  green  are  dis- 
tinguished apart ;  the  eyes  of  the  other  individual  are  so  constituted 
that  red,  gray,  and  brown,  and  even  a  green,  with  the  correct  brightness 
appear  alike.  We  may  say  then  again,  that  the  situation  (environment) 
is  the  cause  of  a  reaction,  but  the  innate  make-up  of  the  individual 
(heredity)  determines  just  what  the  reaction  shall  be. 

In  the  case  of  our  mirror-drawing  experiment,  the  situation  was  the 
same  for  all  ten  individuals,  but  their  reactions  differed  very  materially. 
Some  were  very  accurate  and  quick  in  reacting,  some  were  accurate 
and  slow,  some  were  inaccurate  but  quick,  and  some  were  inaccurate 
and  slow.  At  first  thought  we  might  imagine  that  the  individual  dif- 
ferences in  this  experiment  were  all  due  to  heredity,  since  the  situation 
was  alike  for  the  ten  individuals.  But  such  a  statement  is  not  so  exact 
as  we  shall  desire  here.  Suppose  one  of  the  ten  individuals  had  prac- 
ticed with  the  apparatus  at  some  previous  time.  Would  it  then  be  fair 
to  say  that  he  did  better  than  the  others  simply  because  of  heredity? 
Certainly  not.  We  must  then  introduce  a  third  factor  into  the  dis- 
cussion— the  factor  of  training.  Training  may  be  thought  of  in  this 
connection  as  the  habits  the  individual  has  accumulated  from  previous 
experiences  in  life.  Every  time  we  react  to  a  situation  we  add  a  new 
element  to  our  mental  make-up.  And  so  we  may  think  of  ourselves  as 
being  made  up  of  pure  hereditary  influences  plus  habitual  influences. 
How  we  react,  then,  toward  the  swimming  hole  situation  is  dependent 
(i)  upon  the  entire  situation  comprising  swimming  hole,  dancing 
possibilities,  etc.;  (2)  upon  our  original  nature  given  us  by  heredity. 
and  (3)  upon  the  sum  total  of  our  experiences  in  life,  our  training. 
This  factor  of  training  is,  of  course,  a  mixture  of  heredity  and  pre- 
vious environment  which  now  affects  the  organism's  reaction  to  his 
immediate  environment. 

Consider  the  case  of  a  baby  who  has  commenced  to  talk  and  al- 
ready knows  a  "goose"  but  no  other  bird,  and  the  word  "dress"  but 
none  other  to  designate  clothing.  Standing  on  the  porch  one  day,  she 
observes  a  pigeon  up  above  her  preening  its  feathers.  Finally  a 
feather  drops  out  and  flutters  to  her  feet.  She  picks  it  up  and  holding 
it  out  to  her  mother  to  admire,  exclaims,  "Goose's  dress."  The  re- 
action, "Goose's  dress,"  is  then  initiated  by  the  feather  falling  at  her 
feet.  Original  nature  is  responsible  for  her  responding  to  the  small 
object  by  picking  it  up,  also  by  desiring  to  talk  about  it.    But  previous 


LESSON    24 


117 


training  determines  that  the  particular  words  that  are  used  are  words 
already  learned.  All  three  factors  contribute  then  to  the  reaction. 
What  we  do  at  any  moment  in  life  is  due  to  the  interplay  of  these  three 
factors:  (i)  the  situation  confronting  us — (2)  our  own  original  nature 
inherited  from  our  ancestors,  and  (s)  our  own  acquired  habits,  the  re- 
sult of  previous  experiences. 

Before  considering  the  indivdual  differences  which  we  have  dis- 
covered in  the  mirror-drawing  experiment,  or  the  simple  arithmetical 
work,  in  the  light  of  these  three  factors,  one  point  needs  to  be  cleared 
up  which  may  puzzle  some. 

LEARNING  CURVES  BASED  ON  "TIME"  VERSUS  THOSE  BASED  ON 

"amount  done." 
In  the  mirror-drawing  learning  curves,  as  one  progressed,  his  curve 
came  down;  in  the  arithmetic  test,  as  one  improved,  his  curve  went 
up.  iiiis  difference  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  the  mirror-drawing  ex- 
periment the  results  were  recorded  in  terms  of  time  (seconds),  while 
in  the  arithmetic  tests  the  results  were  recorded  in  terms  of  amount 
done.    Improvement  shows  itself  either  by  a  decrease  in  time  for  doing 


fr*bl*m» 


u 

10 

IS 
10 

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I, 


Truti 


rrimU 


Plata  Til.   Laamijag  oxurvea  of  4th  grada  ohlldran  In  BatlpUoatlon. 
fha  laft  hand  cnrrm  ahowa  Vbm  noiobor  of  problamB  aolvad  In  two  mlii> 
«t«a  on  IB  different  ftaya.   The  right  band  onrre  showe  the  aToraga 
tliM  reiialred  to  do  a  sln^la  problem  on  tha  16  different  days.   Tha 
toznar  raoorda  progTaeB  In  anount  dona,  tha  latter  In  tlaa  aoniiuiual* 


Il8  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TUACllKRS 

the  saine  Usk  (as  in  the  mirror-drawing  experiment)  or  by  an  increase 
in  what  is  accomplished  in  the  same  work-period  (as  in  the  arithmetic 

tests).  Now  either  of  these  curves  can  be  transniute.i  so  as  to  appear 
m  the  other  form.  Take,  for  example,  the  curve  of  learning  of  the 
4th  Grade  children  in  multiplication  (shown  in  the  left  hand  curve  of 
Plate  VII).  Here  we  see  that  the  children  performed  11  problems 
correctly  on  the  first  occasion,  15.5  problems  on  the  second,  etc.  They 
accomplished  that  much  in  60  seconds.  At  that  rate  it  required  5.5 
seconds  to  do  one  problem  on  the  first  occasion  (i.  e.,  6cK-i  1=5.5)  > 
3.9  seconds  to  do  one  problem  on  the  second  occasion  (i.  e., 
60-^-15.5=3.9)  ;  etc.  When  these  quotients  are  plotted  for  the 
trials  we  obtain  the  right  hand  curve  in  Plate  VII.  The  two  curves, 
then,  both  record  the  same  facts,  altho  one  goes  up  and  the  other 
comes  down.  With  a  little  practice  in  thinking  in  terms  of  curves  this 
seeming  paradox  will  no  longer  bother  one. 

EXPLANATION    OF    INDIVIDUAL   DIFFERENCES    IN    TERMS    OF    "HEREDITy" 

AND    "training." 

In  the  case  of  the  mirror-drawing  experiment,  or  the  simple  arith- 
metical work,  the  situation  is  the  same  for  all  the  individuals.  All  the 
individuals  are  confronted  with  the  same  apparatus  or  the  same  blank 
of  80  problems.  In  one  sense  this  is  not  strictly  true,  as  we  have  al- 
ready seen,  since  different  individuals  respond  to  different  details  in 
the  entire  situation.  But  these  differences  are  not  due  to  actual  physi- 
cal differences  in  the  situation,  but  rather  to  differences  in  the  indi- 
viduals themselves.  We  may  then  properly  speak  of  the  situations  con- 
fronting the  individuals  as  being  exactly  the  same  in  all  ten  cases.  It 
then  remains  to  explain  the  differences  we  find  among  the  ten  indi- 
viduals in  terms  of  "original  nature"  or  "training." 

The  Effect  of  Previous  Training.  We  have  learned  that  all  indi- 
viduals show  greater  improvement  at  the  commencement  of  practice 
than  at  the  end.  This  being  the  case  the  learning  curves  of  those  who 
have  had  no  previous  practice  zvill  rise  more  rapidly  and  slozv  up  more 
gradually  than  in  the  case  of  those  who  have  had  previous  practice' 

This  fact  may  be  illustrated  in  Plate  VIII  by  saying  that  the  person 
who  has  had  no  previous  practice  (training)  would  have  the  learning 
curve  marked  B.  The  person  with  previous  training  might  have  in- 
stead a  curve  similar  to  A.  The  former's  curve  would  show  very 
marked  gains  at  the  start  and  would  show  a  large  improvement  alto- 
gether. The  latter's  curve  would  not  show  such  a  marked  gain  at  the 
start  and  would  not  show  such  a  large  total  improvement.  We  may 
think  of  A's  curve  as  not  being  complete — that  the  first  15  trials  are 
not  shown  here   (having  been  performed  before)    and  that  what  is 


LESSON    24 


119 


rq>resented  is  trials  16  to  41.  This  is  on  the  assumption  that  A  and  B 
are  exactly  identical  in  every  respect.  This  is  further  shown  in  the 
two  curves  by  representing  B's  progress  in  trials  16  to  26  as  exactly 


Plat*  VIII.  Showing  laaLznln^  cmma  of  two  Indl-riait&ls 
who  ar*  Idantloal  In  all  r«sp«ota  save  In  the  asonnt 
of  trainlae  In  tha  azltfaDatloal  ooahmatlons. 

equal  to  A's  progress  in  trials  i  to  11.  And  if  the  curves  were  •on- 
tinued,  B's  progress  in  trials  26  to  41  would  be  identical  to  A's  records 
in  trials  11  to  26.  Previous  training,  then  affects  an  individnaYs  learn- 
ing curve  by  raising  its  starting-point  and  by  eliminating  to  some  ex- 
tent at  least  the  ordinary  big  rise  at  the  start. 

It  was  stated  above  that  B  would  show  apparently  greater  improve- 
ment than  A.  The  word  "apparently"  should  be  emphasized.  Plate 
VIII  is  so  drawn  as  to  indicate  that  altho  B's  curve  shows  a  g^reater 
gain  than  A's  curve  when  measured  in  terms  of  improvement  in  prob- 
lems performed  correctly  (i.  e.,  5  problems  to  33.0  problems  as  against 


I20  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

29.2  problems  to  35.9  problems)  yet  in  terms  of  number  of  trials  B 
has  not  gained  over  A.  He  started  out  15  trials  behind  and  remained 
15  trials  behind  to  the  end.  If  B's  curve  were  extended  for  15  trials 
more  it  would  then  reach  the  point  reached  by  A  at  his  41st  trial — the 
end  of  his  practice  period.  It  is  an  extremely  difficult  matter  to  meas- 
ure relative  improvement  in  terms  of  time  or  amount  of  work  done, 
because  as  one  approaches  his  limit  each  unit  of  effort  will  produce  a 
smaller  and  smaller  gain  in  time  saved  or  work  accomplished.' 

The  Effect  of  Differences  in  Hereditary  Endozvment.  How  do  differ- 
ences in  sheer  hereditary  endowment  affect  learnins^  curves?  Plate  IX 
illustrates  this  point.  The  individual  with  the  best  endowment  will 
show  the  greatest  improvement,  the  person  with  the  least  endowment 
will  show  the  least  improvement.  Curves  B,  C,  and  D  represent  the 
learning  curves  of  three  persons ;  curve  B  being  the  curve  of  the  best 
endowed,  curve  C  being  of  a  poorer  endowed  person,  and  curve  D  be- 
ing of  the  poorest  endowed  person  of  the  three.  The  better  the  original 
tiature  of  the  individual  the  greater  will  be  the  improvement  resulting 
from  practice.  These  three  individuals  with  equal  training  and  varying 
degrees  of  hereditary  endowment  would  not  even  do  equally  well,  of 
course,  on  the  first  trial,  because  the  better  endowed  person  would  do 
better  than  the  others  right  from  the  start. 

One  warning  should  be  given  here.  The  degree  of  efficiency  of  the 
original  nature  of  the  individual  must  be  considered  as  it  applies  to 
the  particular  task  being  tested.  For  example,  a  great  musician  (hav- 
ing superior  original  nature  in  musical  lines)  may  not  necessarily  have 
superior  endowment  in  mirror-drawing.  The  musician's  curve  in 
mirror-drawing  will  show  great  improvement  or  not ;  depending  not 
upon  endowment  in  general,  but  upon  the  endowment  which  he  has 
that  pertains  to  mirror-drawing. 

The  Effect  of  Differences  in  Training  and  Heredity  Combined.  Now 
let  us  consider,  third,  some  combinations  of  these  two  factors.  We 
may  have  four  individuals,  (i)  A  having  good  heredity  and  previous 
training,  (2)  B  having  good  heredity  but  no  previous  training,  (3) 
E  having  poor  heredity  and  previous  training,  and  (4)  D  having  poor 
heredity  and  no  previous  training.  (Poor  heredity  is  to  be  under- 
stood as  endowment  having  to  do  with  the  trait  under  discussion ; 
training  to  be  considered  in  terms  of  so  many  units  of  time  devoted  to 
learning  specific  material.)  Then  their  learning  curves  would  take 
more  or  less  the  forms  illustrated  in  Plate  X.  A  and  E  can  be  thought 
of  as  having  had  15  units  of  instruction,  and  B  and  D  as  having  had 

( I )  This  point  is  discussed  further  in  the  writer's  monograph,  Effects  of  Hookworm 
Disease  on  the  Mental  and  Physical  Development  of  Children.  International  Heialth 
Commission,    1916,  pp.  22-39. 


LESSON    24 


121 


Plat*  II.   Showing  loaming  curves  of  thrss  Indirliuals 
viUi  Aiffer«nt  Itatttdltary  eodomnonta. 

none.  As  B  is  superior  to  D  by  hereditary  endowment  he  will  do  better 
than  the  latter  at  the  start  and  will  rapidly  leave  him  behind.  (See 
Plate  IX,  where  this  point  is  alone  considered.)  The  more  training 
they  receive  the  more  different  will  they  become  as  far  as  this  trait  is 
considered,  because  of  the  difference  in  their  ability.  In  the  same  way 
A  and  E,  who  have  had  some  previous  training  become  more  and  more 
unlike  as  they  continue  their  training.  These  curves  illustrate,  then,  the 
principle  that  continued  training  makes  individuals  of  different  heredi- 
tary endowment  more  and  more  unlike.  We  shall  return  to  this  point 
a  little  later. 

The  curves  of  A  and  B  are  symmetrical.  A's  curve  actually  being 
the  same  as  B's  from  the  latter's  i6th  trial  on  to  what  would  be  his  41st 
trial.  The  curves  of  E  and  D  are  also  symmetrical  in  the  same  way. 
Because  of  their  previous  training  A  and  E  will  maintain  their  supe- 


122  IXTRODLCTOUY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TlCACIIERS 

riority  over  B  and  D,  respectively.  This  superiority  seemingly  grows 
smaller  and  smaller  with  practice.  It  actually  does  if  measured  in 
terms  of  problems  performed,  but  it  does  not  if  measured  in 
terms  of  effort,  for  A  always  remains  ahead  of  B  to  the  extent  of  what 
15  units  of  time  will  produce,  and  likewise  E  remains  ahead  of  D  to  that 
extent. 

The  difference  between  the  good  heredity  of  A  and  B  and  the 
poor  heredity  of  E  and  D  is  meant  to  be  a  considerable  difference.  Yet 
it  is  not  exaggerated  at  all  in  comparison  with  the  differences  found  in 
most  any  class  room.  The  differences  between  the  average  of  the 
4th  Grade  and  the  group  of  retarded  children  is  about  equal  to  that 
shown  here  between  A  and  E.  In  Plate  XI  are  shown  the  curves  of  a 
child  from  the  4th  Grade  and  another  from  the  retarded  group.  The 
former  is  not  the  brightest  in  that  grade  (actually  rated  nth  in  a  class 
of  28)  and  the  latter  is  not  the  dullest  among  these  unfortunate  chil- 
dren. The  retarded  child's  record  was,  o  problems,  0,0.0,  1,0,  i,  2,  2,  2, 
and  after  170  minutes  drill,  5,  5,  and  4.  Here  measles  intervened  to 
spoil  our  record.  In  fairness  to  the  records  it  should  be  stated  that 
undoubtedly  the  4th  Grade  child  practiced  on  these  combinations  out- 
side of  school.  But  the  dull  child  had  also  this  opportunity.  The 
curves  do  represent  consequently  the  learning  that  followed  equal 
stimulations  in  the  school.  One  child  could  respond  in  an  adequate 
manner  and  did  so  and  the  other  child  could  not  and  so  did  not.  Some 
children  can  learn  mathematics  so  that  they  eventually  master  calculus 
and  its  applications  to  engineering,  while  others  never  get  beyond  the 
fundamentals.  Some  children  master  the  principles  of  art  and  de- 
sign and  become  skilled  in  dressmaking,  millinery,  architecture,  paint- 
ing, etc.,  while  others  are  oblivious  to  the  most  atrocious  combinations 
of  color  or  form  in  their  clothes,  their  home  surroundings,  etc.  The 
gifted  child  learns  rapidly  and  improves  tremendously,  the  child  who  is 
lacking  learns  slowly  and  learns  very  little. 

INDIVIDUAL    DIFFERENCES    IN    SOLVING    SIMPLE    .\RITHMETICAL 
COMBINATIONS. 

Let  US  now  more  or  less  review  what  has  been  discussed  in  this  les- 
son but  consider  the  matter  in  terms  of  the  data  studied  in  Lesson  23. 

These  data  are  plotted  in  Plate  XII.  The  curves  do  not 
bring  out  the  points  so  clearly  as  do  the  theoretically  constructed 
curves  of  Plates  VIII,  IX,  and  X.  Nevertheless  they  bear  witness  to  all 
of  those  points. 

I.  The  greater  the  amount  of  practice  the  higher  the  curves  start. 
This  point  needs  no  further  discussion. 


I.F.SSOX    24 


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124  INTKODL'CTOKV    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

2.  The  greater  the  aviount  of  practice  the  less  rapid  the  gain.  This 
point  is  true  but  it  does  not  always  appear,  due  to  the  presence  of  con- 
flicting factors.  Altho  none  of  these  groups  had  had  any  previous 
training  with  the  particular  tests  under  discussion,  yet  we  naturally 
would  expect  the  adults  to  have  had  more  practice  and  so  to  show 
less  improvement  than  the  4th  Grade  children.  The  real  cause,  how- 
ever, as  to  why  the  curves  do  not  clearly  illustrate  the  point  made  at 
the  commencement  of  this  paragraph  is  due  to  the  differences  in  the 
groups  in  terms  of  heredity.  Not  only  are  the  adults  superior  to  the 
4th  Grade  children  because  they  have  a  mature  development  of  their 
hereditary  nature,  but  also  without  question  a  class  of  college  men  and 
women  are  superior  to  a  class  of  4th  Grade  children.  That  is,  the  4th 
Grade  class  will  not  average  as  high  an  endowment  when  they  be- 
come adults  as  do  the  college  students.  This  class  of  43  college  students 
is  probably  composed  of  the  brightest  students  from  43  4th  Grade 
classes.  The  great  differences  in  heredity  cover  up  then  the  effect  of 
much  practice  versus  little  practice. 

3.  The  greater  the  hereditary  endowment  the  greater  the  improve- 
ment from  training.  This  point  is  clear  from  the  curves  and  from 
what  has  just  been  stated. 

4.  The  greater  the  training  the  more  a  group  of  individuals  be- 
come unlike.  At  the  commencement  of  the  training  recorded  here  the 
three  groups  could  perform  as  follows : 

College  students  solve      59    plroblems    per   minute. 
4th  Grade  Children  solve  19  problems  per  minute. 
Defective  Children  solve    4  problems  per  minute. 


Average  27.3 

A.  D.  21. 1 

and  at  the  end  of  ten  practice  periods  they  performed  as  follows : — 
College  students  solve      76  problems  per  minute. 
4th  Grade  children  solve  30  problems  per  minute. 
Defective  Children  solve  7  problems  per  minute. 


Average  37.7 

A.  D.  25.6 

As  the  A.  D.  has  increased  we  know  the  groups  are  less  alike  than 
before.    This  fact  is  shown  also  in  this  way. 

College  students  are  superior  to  4th  Grade  Children  at  start  by  40 
problems. 

College  students  are  superior  to  4th  Grade  Children  at  end  by  46 
problems. 


LRSSON    24 


125 


t/umber  at  Tf»bUmS 
80 


70 


to 


SO 


40 


30 


20 


S  ,10 


IS 


Plat*  HI.  Showing  learning  oorres 
in  solving  eimple  arithmotloaJ.  eom- 
blnatlona  from  adults,  Curve  A. 
(B-Test)  and  Ourro  B  iBX-Teet) :  4th 
grade  ohildren.  Curve  C  (B-T«st) 
and  Curve  C  (BI-Teat):  and  from  da- 
faotlvs  ohildren.  Curves  E  and  F  (B 
Teat, — Curve  ?  prior  to  and  Curve  B 
after  170  minutes  of  speoial  drill 
en  addition  ooobinations.) 

Also — 

College  students  are  superior  to  Defective  Children  at  start  by  55 
problems. 

College  students  are  superior  to  Defective  Children  at  end  by  69 
problems, 
and — 

4th  Grade  Children  are  superior  to  Defective  Children  at  start  by  15 
problems. 

4th  Grade  Children  are  superior  to  Defective  Children  at  end  by  2^ 
problems. 


126  IXTUODUCTORV    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TKACIIERS 

This  fourth  fact,  that  training  causes  a  group  to  "fly  apart,"  to  be- 
come niore  and  more  unlike,  due  to  the  inherent  differences  in  the 
hereditary  equipment  of  the  members  of  the  group,  affects  our  school 
work  most  profoundly.  It  makes  clear  that  no  grade  can  be  taught  as 
a  class  without  some  members  very  shortly  doing  such  good  work  as 
to  tempt  the  authorities  to  promote  them  into  the  next  grade  and  some 
other  children  doing  such  poor  work  as  to  lead  to  their  being  put  back 
into  the  grade  below  or  to  force  the  teacher  to  give  them  individual 
instruction.  No  mechanical  administrative  scheme  for  holding  a  class 
together  will  ever  work  satisfactorily  because  the  members  of  that 
class  cannot  advance  at  the  same  rate.  The  solution  to  this  difficulty 
has  not  been  evolved,  but  if  it  ever  is,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  it  will  in- 
clude a  yery  flexible  scheme  of  promotion  by  subject-matter,  cfiuulcil 
with  extensive  provision  for  individual  coaching  of  children  that  are 
markedly  behind  and  markedly  ahead  of  their  class.  This  point  will 
be  taken  up  again  later.  But  right  now  it  should  be  realized  that  the 
main  point  of  the  whole  problem  is  that  children  cannot  progress  in 
their  learning  at  the  same  rate: — that  some  go  last,  some  go  slow. 
and  some  advance  at  average  speed. 

LESSON  25.  THE  GENERAL  LAW  AS  TO  HOW  INDIVIDUALS 

DIFFER 

We  know  that  people  are  different  almost  before  we  realize  that 
there  are  people.  We  distinguish  between  tall  people  and  short  peo- 
ple, fat  people  and  thin  people,  clever  people  and  silly  people,  and 
most  of  us  would  agree  fairly  well  in  our  classifications.  But  how  do 
we  draw  these  distinctions?  Do  we  have  hard  and  fast  lines,  enclosed 
between  which  one  class  is  set  off  from  another?  Should  we  say  that 
all  men  between  o  inches  and  62  inches  in  height,  for  instance,  are 
short,  and  those  between  62  inches  and  84  inches  are  tall  ?  Or  that  any 
one  less  than  125  lbs.  is  thin  and  anyone  more  than  125  lbs.  is  fat? 
.\nd  eren  if  we  decide  to  be  so  definite  in  these  cases,  (tho  certainly  our 
standard  is  artificial)  where  shall  we  draw  the  line  in  the  case  of  men- 
tal attainments?  Are  we  all  talented  or  stupid  for  example?  Or  are 
most  of  us  merely  average  people  without  special  qualifying  adjectives. 
and  the  rest  of  us  simply  either  better  or  worse  than  the  average? 
That  is,  instead  of  having  separate  little  groups  of  idiots,  normal  folks, 
and  geniuses,  the  members  of  each  class  keeping  carefully  to  them- 
selves, do  we  perhaps  have  but  one  class  of  individuals,  all  typified  by 
the  average,  yet  all  varying  from  the  average  in  greater  or  less  degree  ? 

We  are  about  to  perform  an  experiment  in  throwing  dice.  This  is 
as  purely  a  chance  performance  as  we  can  get.     Let  us  see  if  the 


LESSON    25  127 


24 

19 

14 

8 

17 

5 

13 

16 

12 

4 

2 

10 

7 

3 

Number  of  Throws 

8 

6 


18    22 
2  15     II 

21     25       I      6      4      2     10      7      3    20      9    23 

46  8  10  12  14  16  18 

Total  Amount  of  Throws. 

Plate  XIII.  Illustrating  by  means  of  a  "surface  of  distribution" 
twenty-five  throws  of  three  dice. 

throws  are  distinctly  different  or  whether  they  follow  one  general  law. 
For  example,  can  we  divide  the  throws  into  two  groups — high  and 
low,  or  must  we  think  in  terms  of  one  group  with  variations  from  its 
average?  In  any  case  the  results  may  apply  to  our  biological  problem 
as  given  above. 

THE  EXPERIMENT. 

Problem.  In  throning  dice  are  the  totals  distinctly  different  or  do 
they  approach  a  general  type? 

Apparatus.    Coordinate  paper ;  3  dice. 

Procedure.  Part  i.  Lay  off  on  your  coordinate  paper  a  base  line, 
and  number  the  squares  from  o  to  20,  as  is  done  in  Plate  XIII.  Lay  off 
a  vertical  axis  and  number  the  squares  from  o  to  35.  Now  commence 
and  throw  your  three  dice.  Count  up  the  total  of  the  three  dice  and 
record  that  total  on  your  coordinate  paper  in  its  proper  place.  (The 
writer  threw  first  a  4,  3,  and  i,  making  a  total  of  8.  A  little  square 
was  then  drawn  as  indicated  by  the  i  in  Plate  XIII.  An  11  was 
thrown  next  and  it  is  indicated  by  the  2  in  the  Plate.  A  14  was  thrown 
third,  etc.  Twenty-five  throws  are  indicated  in  this  Plate,  the  twenty- 
fifth  throw  being  a  7.     Plate  XIII  shows  then  that  the  writer  threw 

one         6  two     12s 

one         7  one     13 

three      8s  two    14s 

three     9s  one     15 

six        los  one     16,  and 

three    lis  one     17. 

Thus  25  throws  are  distributed  or  indicated  in  the  plate. 

Record  in  this  way  100  throws.  Show  your  completed  diagram  to 
the  instructor  before  proceeding  further. 


128  IXTRODUCroUV    I'SYCriOLOGY    FOR    TEACH KRS 

Such  a  diagram  is  called  a  surface  of  distribution  as  it  shows  just 
how  all  the  throws  were  distributed  among  the  possible  totals. 

Part  2.  Now  determine  how  many  different  totals  can  be  obtained 
by  throwing  three  dice.  (In  Plate  XIII  are  indicated  12  different 
totals,  i.  e.,  from  a  total  of  6  to  a  total  of  17,  inclusive.)  Present  your 
answer  to  your  instructor  before  proceeding  further. 

Part  3.  Now  figure  out  (a)  all  the  possible  dilTcrcnt  combinations* 
it  is  possible  to  obtain  by  throwing  three  dice. 

(This  assignment  is  independent  of  Part  i  and  can  be  worked  out 
without  any  reference  to  it).  The  writer  threw  first  a  4,  3,  and  i ;  next 
time  he  threw  a  3,  5,  and  i  ;  the  third  he  threw  a  6,  5,  and  3.  Here  are 
three  different  combinations.  The  question  is,  how  many  different 
combinations  are  there?  (Consider  in  this  connection  that  a  throw  of 
4,  3,  and  2  is  different  from  a  2,  4,  and  3,  and  both  of  these  arc  dif- 
ferent from  a  3,  2,  and  4.) 

Also  figure  out  (b)  how  many  of  each  total  you  will  obtain  when 
every  possible  combination  is  considered.  (For  example,  throws  of  2, 
4,  and  6 ;  5,  5,  and  2 ;  5,  6,  and  i ;  are  three  different  combinations,  but 
they  all  give  the  same  total,  i.  e.,  12.)  In  Plate  XIII  are  indicated  12  dif- 
ferent totals,  i.  e.,  from  a  total  of  6  to  a  total  of  17,  inclusive.  On  the 
preceding  page  are  listed  how  many  of  each  of  these  totals  the  writer 
obtained  in  his  25  throws. 

Part  4.  Suppose  instead  of  getting  the  100  throws  you  did  get,  you 
had  thrown  the  dice  as  many  times  as  there  are  different  combinations 
and  in  throwing  the  dice  that  number  of  times  had  got  each  and  all 
of  these  different  combinations.  Plot  a  surface  of  distribution  to  illus- 
trate just  this. 

Part  5.  What  relation  do  you  think  there  exists  between  the  sur- 
face of  distribution  you  actually  obtained  by  throwing  the  dice  100 
times  and  the  surface  of  distribution  obtained  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph ? 

What  relation  do  you  think  there  exists  between  the  findings  in  this 
experiment  of  throwing  dice  and  the  general  problem  of  how  individuals 
differ?  Can  throws  be  divided  into  two  or  more  groups;  can  in- 
dividuals ? 

Hand  in  your  report  at  the  next  class-hour. 

•Mathematica)ly  speaking  what  is  wanted  here  is  permutations,  not  combinations. 
That  is,  in  forming  combinations  we  are  only  concerned  with  the  number  of  things 
each  selection  contains,  whereas  in  forming  permutations,  we  have  also  to  consider 
the  order  of  the  things  which  make  up  each  arrangement;  for  instance,  if  from  six 
nuTnbers,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  we  make  a  selection  of  three,  such  as  123,  this  single 
combination  admits  of  being  arr&nged  in  the  following  ways: — 123.  132,  213,  231. 
312,  and  321.  and  so   gives   rise  to  six  different  permutations. 


LESSON  26.— GENERAL  LAW  AS  TO  HOW  INDIVIDUALS 

DIFFER* 

THE   NORMAL  SURFACE  OF  DISTRIBUTION. 

If  one  should  take  three  dice  and  throw  them  216  times,  each  time 
counting  up  the  total  score  and  plotting  this  score,  one  might  obtain  a 
surface  of  distribution  somewhat  like  the  three  surfaces  shown  in 
Plate  XIV.  The  first  and  third  were  actually  so  obtained,  the  middle 
one  is  the  perfect  surface  which  chance  theoretically  should  give. 

One  may  figure  out  this  theoretically  perfect  surface  in  this  way. 
Count  up  all  the  throws  that  are  possible  and  record  how  many  times 
each  total  appears.     You  may  have 

and  I  and  i, 


3. 
4» 
5, 
6, 
I, 
2, 
etc. 


total  of  3 
4 
5 
6 


When  you  have  so  obtained  all  the  216  totals  you  will  find  that  you  have 


I 

3 

6 

10 

IS 
21 

25 
27 


total 
totals 


of 
of 


3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 


27 

25 
21 

15 

10 

6 

3 
I 


12 
13 
14 
15 

16 
17 
18 


When  these  data  are  plotted  you  have  the  ideal  surface  of  distribu- 
tion in  Plate  XIV.  All  this  means  that  when  you  throw  three  dice  you 
are  just  as  likely  to  get  any  one  combination  as  any  other.  But  you 
are  more  likely  to  get  a  total  of  10  or  11  than  3  or  18.  You  can  ex- 
press this  likelihood  by  the  expression  27  to  i.  for  there  are  27  combi- 
nations that  will  give  a  total  of  10  or  11,  whereas  there  is  only  one 
combination  that  will  give  3  or  18.  Our  normal  curve  of  distribution 
represents  then  that  surface  most  likely  to  be  obtained  by  216  throws. 
Actually  we  seldom  get  exactly  that  ideal  surface,  but  we  do  get  sur- 
faces that  approximate  it  in  general  appearance. 


•CLASS-HOUR 

IN    CLASS 

WRITE    UP 

READ                i 

26 

27 

Discuss,    Lesson    25 
Exper.,  Lesson  27 

Lesson    2  7 

Lesson    26            i 

129 


I30 


INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACH tRS 


., _      Three  aurfaoea  of  dlatrlbutlon  obtained  from  thro\7lng  three  dice  816 

uase.  Tho  flrat  and  third  aurfaoea  were  obtained  from  216  actual  throwa.  The 
aeoond  la  baao4  on  what  theorotlo&lly  ahould  be  obtained  from  that  number  of 

One  may  think  of  this  matter  of  throwing  three  dice  as  being  con- 
ditioned on  three  independent  factors,  each  one  of  which  may  vary  in- 
dependently in  six  different  ways.  When  the  three  independent  factors 
with  their  six  possible  variations  are  considered  as  a  whole,  we  realize 
that  there  are  216  independent  combinations  possible.  But  the  216 
independent  combinations  do  not  give  216  different  final  scores.  They 
give  but  16  different  scores  (from  3  to  18).  Nor  do  the  216  combina- 
tions give  an  equal  number  of  each  of  the  16  different  scores.  They 
give  varying  numbers  of  the  16  different  scores — only  one  3,  three  4s, 
six  5s,  etc.,  as  in  the  table  above. 

Now  in  a  similar  way  we  may  think  of  the  characters  of  different  in- 
dividuals as  the  final  scores  resulting  from  the  interaction  of  n-any 
independent  factors,  each  of  which  may  vary  independently  in  many 
ways.  Instead  of  there  being  but  three  factors  with  six  variations  each, 
Avhich  combined  give  us  our  human  individualities,  there  are  undoubt- 
edly many  more  than  three  factors  and  these  factors  have  many  more 
than  six  variations.     Nevertheless  the  final  outcome  is  very  similar 


LESSON    26  131 


Plate  ZV.  The  normal  curve  or  surface 
of  distribution.  The  two  curves  differ 
only  In  that  a  coarse  unit  of  measure- 
ment was  employed  in  the  second  case 
whereas  a  fine  \init  was  employed  in 
the  flrat  case; — i.e.,   inches  vs» 
ieighthsof  an  inch.   (Prom  E.   L.   Tkom- 
dlfce.'Bduoational  Psychology,  Vol.  Ill,, 
p. 334. 

to  what  we  obtain  by  throwing  dice.  We  find  that  most  of  the  indi- 
viduals, just  like  most  of  the  throws,  give  us  individualities  that  re- 
semble each  other  very  much,  just  as  the  throws  of  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  and 
13  are  very  much  alike.  We  find  also  that  occasionally  we  get  very 
striking  personalities,  just  as  very  occasionally  we  get  throws  of  3  or  4 
or  17  or  18.  They  are  striking  because  they  differ  so  from  what  we 
ordinarily  have. 

In  Plate  XV  are  given  two  different  methods  of  drawing  the  typical 
surface  of  distribution.  In  the  lower  of  these  two  surfaces  there  was 
used  a  very  coarse  unit  of  measurement,  e.  g..  inches  in  measuring 
height,  and  in  the  upper  surface  there  was  used  a  very  much  finer  unit 
of  measurement,  e.  g.,  eighths  of  an  inch.  We  can  imagine  a  surface 
drawn  on  the  basis  of  a  still  finer  unit  of  measurement.  In  this  case 
the  jogs  in  the  line  would  be  very,  very  small,  so  that  for  all  practical 
purposes  the  line  would  be  a  smooth  curve  and  not  a  jagged  line.  Such 
a  curve  is  called  the  normal  curve  of  distribution.  In  terms  of  geome- 
try the  normal  curve  of  distribution  is  the  limit  approached  by  most 
surfaces  of  distribution  which  are  obtained  in  biological  studies. 
THE  DISTRIBUTION   OE   INDIVIDUAL   DIFEERENCES. 

/in  Ideal  Distribution.    When  we  come  to    study  human  beings  we 
find  that  thev  fit  into  our  normal  surface  wonderfully  well.    Tn  fact,  the 


132 


INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACH KRS 


conception  has  been  derived  from  our  study  of  individual  differences. 
In  Plate  XVI  is  shown  a  normal  curve  of  distribution  picturing  the  dif- 
ferent types  of  individuals  according  to  general  intelligence. 
In  the  middle  are  the  great  bulk  (50%)  of  human  beings — aver- 
age human  beings.  As  we  proceed  to  the  left,  we  have  individuals 
slightly  below  the  average;  "dull"  persons;  morons  with  intelligence 
approximately  equal   to   children   from   8.0  to   lo.o  years  ;*   and   then 


3f f 

l&lo^         Imbe-       Koron     IMll       Below 

olio  Avorace 


Av«rae«  Above       Loeal  Talent*  Bril*  !  Stat*  MM 

Average  Leaders     ed       liaat  /aatJM|i|i2 

'  laoKar 


?lat«  XVI.  A  normal  surface  of  distribution  dlTlded  up  into  tiielTe  groupa  show- 
ing alerea  degrees, «f  general  intelllgenoe  (tlie  middle  two  groups  are  together 
oonsldered  as  typioal  of  average  intelligence). 

Note:  In  this  dlagi^am  the  oarfaoe  is  so  dlviaed  up  that  the  lAterv&ie  along  the 
base  line  are  equal.  In  other  words,  the  difference  in  general  intelllgenoe 
between  any  two  groups  are  equal.  ■   *  The  areas  so  mEurked  off  are  not  equal.  SO]l 
of  the  entire  100,000,000  population  of  the  United  States  would,  be  placed  in 
the  two  middle  areas  designated  "  average'.'  On  the  other  hand  about  2^  of  the 
population  would  be  included  in  the  last  three  groupd  at  the  left. 


imbeciles  with  intelligence  of  from  2.0  to  8.0  years;  and  idiots  with 
intelligence  of  from  0.0  to  2.0  years.  The  remaining  0.001%  of  the 
inferior  population  can  possibly  be  thought  of  as  being  too  inferior  to 
live  and  so  constitute  a  fraction  of  those  who  are  born  dead.  In  the 
same  way  we  may  divide  up  our  superior  individuals  proceeding  from 
the  middle  group  out  toward  the  right.  Apparently  we  have  no  terms 
to  cover  these  superior  individuals  so  that  the  expressions  used  here 
have  no  standard  meaning.  To  the  right  of  the  group  entitled  "Na- 
tional Leaders,"  comprising  29,000  in  a  population  of  100,000,000  are 
still  1,000  individuals  not  to  be  overlooked.  They  comprise  our  most 
valuable  men,  our  geniuses,  etc. 

Professor  Cattell**  in  his  study  of  the  thousand  most  eminent  men  of 


•The'"  i'  •••'■  ^  He;  '  -^f  controversy  today  as  to  what  should  be  the  proper  mental- 
age  limit  of  morons.  Some  writers  place  it  as  high  as  12  years  Experience  based 
upon  testing  men   in   the  army  makes    10   years  a   satisfactory   figure. 

••J  McK.  Cattell,  A  Statistical  Study  of  Eminent  Men,  Popular  Science  Monthlr. 
Feb..    1903. 


LESSON   26  133 

history,  studied  a  group  even  more  eminent  than  chese  since  his  thou- 
sand was  not  taken  from  a  population  of  ioo,ooo,(XX)  but  from  the 
population  of  the  known  civilized  world.  They  would  be  located  on 
this  diagram  several  groups  to  the  right  of  the  group  here  entitled 
"National  Leaders."  According  to  Cattell  the  ten  most  eminent  men 
of  all  history  are  the  following  in  the  order  of  their  prominence: — 
Napoleon,  Shakespeare,  Mohammed,  Voltaire,  Bacon,  Aristotle, 
Goethe,  Julius  Csesar,  Luther,  and  F'lato. 

ACTUAL  DISTRIBUTIONS  OF  INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES. 

In  Lesson  22  our  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  the  averages 
of  the  eight  grades  of  a  school  may  be  equal  or  superior  to  the  norms 
for  those  grades,  and  yet  many  children  in  each  grade  may  be  in  a 
very  bad  way  educationally.  The  specific  case  was  mentioned  of 
testing  a  school  with  the  Kansas  Silent  Reading  Test  and  the  indi- 
vidual scores  for  all  the  children  were  presented  in  Table  VL  These 
scores  are  again  given  in  Plate  XVIII,  where  they  are  displayed  as 
surfaces  of  distribution.  Because  of  the  small  number  of  children  in 
any  class  these  surfaces  only  remotely  approximate  the  form  of  the 
surface  of  distribution  which  would  be  obtained  if  there  had  been  100 
or  200  children  in  each  grade.  When  the  scores  from  all  the  children 
in  Grades  IV  to  VIII  are  combined,  as  they  are  in  the  lower  part  of 
Plate  XVIII,  a  surface  of  distribution  much  more  similar  to  the  typical 
form  is  obtained.  If  the  scores  from  the  children  in  Grades  I  to  III 
had  been  included  the  surface  of  distribution  would  be  still  more 
similar  to  the  usually  obtained  form.  Nevertheless  the  form  obtained 
here  is  typical  of  the  form  which  results  from  a  study  of  individual 
differences  in  nearly  all  traits,  both  mental  and  physical. 

Ftretut 


IS 

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^^ 

1 

^^-^ 

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—  — 1 
— ' ,                     1 

Arirff    Xwit/hii/tct    Tcti  ^      Sctrt* 

Plata  XVII.  Showing  the  diatributlon  of  scores  obtained  by  -enlisted  men  and 
officers  In  psychological  Intelligence  test  (Teat  A).  Baaed  on  sooreo  of 
12P,747  "llterRte"men  and  e096  white  officers.  Undoubtedly  many  enlisted 
man  too  lllttatata  to  take  the  kaat  were  Inoluded  here. 


134  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY    FOR  TEACHERS 


l/umb*r  a4  CilCA 


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Plate  XVIII.  Showing  the  Distribution  of  Children  in  Grades  i\' 
to  VIII,  iMued  on  the  Kansas  Silent  Reading  Test.  (See  TaWe  VI  for 
individual  scores.)     (Averages  of  each  grade  indicated  by  the  arrows.) 


LESSON   26  135 

During  the  war  a  psychological  "general  intelligence"  test  was  given 
to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  enlisted  men  and  to  many  of  the 
officers.    Distributions  of  the  scores  obtained  are  shown  in  Plate  XVII. 
They  show  that  the  officers  were  as  a  class  superior  to  the  enlisted 
men  in  intelligence.    This  fact  may  be  expressed  also  as  follows : 
2.4%  of  the  enlisted  men  were  superior  to  75%  of  the  officers 
6.4^  of  the  enlisted  men  were  superior  to  50%  of  the  officers 
12.2^  of  the  enlisted  men  were  superior  to  25%  of  the  officers 
Intelligence  is  not  the  only  qualification  needed  by  officers.     Some 
of  those  with  low  intelligence  scores  were  superior  in  leadership  and 
experience.    In  the  same  way  some  of  the  enlisted  men  who  were  very 
superior  in  intelligence  had  very  poor  physique  and  appearance  or 
were  lacking  in  education  or  leadership,  etc.    From  the  standpoint  of 
the  psychologists  and  personnel  officers  the  problem  of  selection  of  men 
for  officers'  training  camps  was  to  find  the  superior  enlisted  men — su- 
perior both  in  intelligence  and  other  necessary  qualifications. 

The  sharp  drop  at  the  extreme  left  of  the  enlisted  men's  distribu- 
tion curve  proves  conclusively  that  many  enlisted  men  were  not 
measured  here  who  belonged  to  the  group  of  enlisted  men.  This  was 
true.  Twenty-five  per  cent,  of  men  were  eliminated  by  the  draft 
boards  as  below  standard  physically,  mentally  or  morally.  And  the 
worst  illiterates  were  not  given  the  test.  Illiterates  and  those  making 
a  poor  score  in  this  test  were  given  a  test  not  involving  reading. 

FUNDAMENTAL   CAUSES   OF   INDIVIDUAL   DIFFERENCES. 

Individual  diflFerences  are  to  be  thought  of  as  the  resultant  of  many 
more  or  less  independent  factors,  each  of  which  vary  considerably. 
These  factors  may  be  grouped  under  the  three  headings — environment, 
heredity  and  training.  The  different  acts  now  being  performed  by 
human  beings  in  this  country  this  moment  are  due  to  the  situations 
confronting  them,  their  innate  make-up,  and  their  previous  experiences. 
In  the  case  of  heredity,  we  may  look  upon  a  human  being  as  made  up  of 
many  factors  handed  down  to  him  from  his  parents  thru  the  two  germ 
cells.  These  factors  are  more  or  less  independent.  According  to  the 
combination  which  results  from  all  these  factors  we  have  any  particular 
human  being.  As  illustrated  by  the  experiment  in  throwing  dice,  altho 
there  may  be  many  combinations  of  factors  with  their  individual  varia- 
tions there  results  (i)  a  much  smaller  number  of  distinct  individuali- 
ties and  (2)  the  great  majority  of  such  individualities  are  much  alike 
with  only  relatively  few  cases  of  marked  variation  from  the  average. 

One  factor  zvhich  causes  individual  differences.    At  the  present  time 
science  has  ascertained  in  only  a  few  cases  what  the  factors  are  which 


136 


INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 


affect  human  beings  so  as  to  make  them  different.  And  even  there  this 
has  been  done  only  to  a  limited  degree.  One  example  may  be  mentioned 
simply  to  make  this  matter  clearer.  In  the  throat  or  neck  are  some 
small  glands  known  as  the  thyroid  glands.  They  secrete  into  the  blood 
a  substance  which  is  '"characterized  by  containing  a  large  amount  of 
iodin  (9.3%  of  the  dry  weight)."  This  chemical,  apparently,  exercises 
in  the  tissues  "a  regulating  action  of  an  important  or  indeed  essential 
character."  Removal  or  atrophy  of  the  thyroids  results  in  a  condition 
of  chronic  malnutrition ;  "in  the  young  it  is  responsible  for  arrested 
growth  and  deficient  development  designated  as  cretinism,  and  in  the 
adult  the  same  cause  gives  rise  to  the  peculiar  disease  of  myxedema, 
characterized  by  distressing  mental  deterioration,  an  edematous  (dropsy 
of  the  subcutaneous  cellular  tissue)  condition  of  the  skin,  loss  of  hair, 
etc.  "  On  the  other  hand,  enlargement  of  the  thyroid  glands  "forms 
an  essential  factor  of  the  disease  exophthalmic  goitre,"  "The  salient 
feature  of  exophthalmic  goitre  is  a  lowered  threshold  to  all  stimuli." 
"The  organism  responds  at  such  times  to  the  prick  of  a  pin,  a  hint  of 
danger,  or  the  slightest  infection,  by  a  transformation  of  energy  many 
times  greater  than  would  follow  the  same  stimulation  in  the  normal 
organism."  Patients  suffering  from  cretinism  are  now  fed  this  iodin 
chemical,   whereas   patients   suffering   from   exophthalmic  goitre   are 

TABLE  VIII.  SHOWING  THE  PERCENTAGE  OE  4th  AND  8th  GRADE 

CHILDREN  WHO   (a)   ATTEMPTED  AND  (b)   SOLVED 

FROM  o  TO  20  PROBLEMS 


Per 

cent,  of  Pupils  who  attempted  to 

Per 

cent,  of 

Pupils 

who 

Solved 

Cor- 

do  a 

Given  Number 

of  Problems 

rcc 

fly 

a  Given  Number 

of  Problems. 

4th  GRADE 

8th  GRADE 

4th 

Grade 

8th  Cra 

de 

20  Probs.— 0% 

20  Probs. 

-5% 

20 

Probs.— 0% 

20 

Probs. 

—2% 

19 

0 

19 

2 

19 

0 

19 

" 

I 

18 

"        0 

18 

2 

18 

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18 

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5 

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10 

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7 

6 

7 

6 

7 

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6 

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6        " 

4 

6 

9 

6 

« 

9 

5 

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S 

I 

5 

12 

5 

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4 

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4 

I 

4 

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4 

n 

7 

3 

6 

3 

0 

3 

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3 

n 

6 

2 

3 

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0 

2 

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2 

u 

3 

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0 

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10 

0 

" 

I 

Aver. 

6.44 

1 1. 65 

3.81 

8.41 

LESSON   26 


137 


attehpts 


RIGHT5 


5C0RE     8 


Plate  XIX,   Showing  the  percentage  of  4th  and  Pth  grade 
children  who    (a)   attempted  and   (b)   got  right  from  0  to  20 
problems  in  eight  minutes.    (Each  figure  represents  one  child 
in  a  class  of  one  hundred.  The  figures  in  black  represent 
children  in  the  4th  grade  -who  could  be  interchanged  vrith 
corresponding  children  in  the  8th  grade  without  affecting 
the  ajcrages  or  A.D.a  of  either  grade.  From  S.  A.   Courtis 
Educational  Diagnosis,   Second  Indiana  Educational  Confer- 
ence, p  164.) 

operated  on  so  as  to  reduce  the  amount  of  this  chemical  given  off  by 
the  thyroid  glands.  We  see  here  a  single  factor  in  the  entire  organism 
— the  production  of  an  iodine  chemical — which  when  only  slightly  pro- 
duced results  in  cretinism  (deficient  physical  and  mental  development), 
when  normally  produced  results  in  normal  behavior,  and  when  exces- 
sively produced  results  in  goitre  accompanied  by  a  chronic  state  of 
great  excitability.* 

THE  OVERLAPPING  OF  DISTRIBUTIONS  OF  ABILITY  IN  DIFFERENT  SCHOOL 

GRADES. 

The  scores  of  children  in  the  Kansas  Silent  Reading  Test  for  the 
various  school  grades  overlap  enormously  (See  Plate  XVIII).  Because 

•Quotations    are    from    W.    H.     Howell.     Physiology.     1907,    pp.     794-797    aad    G.    W. 
Crile,   Man — An   Adaptive   Mechanism,    1916,   pp.    140-143    and    192-197. 


138  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOI^OGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

it  is  one  of  the  most  important  conceptions  in  educational  theory  today 
it  will  repay  us  to  consider  still  another  example  of  it  here.  In  Table 
VIII  are  given  the  records  of  4th  and  8th  Grade  children  in  column 
addition.* 

The  type  of  example  used  in  the  test  is  illustrated  in  Plate  XIX. 
(Examples  of  this  sort  make  up  the  Addition  Problems  in  the  Courtis 
Arithmetic  Tests).  Courtis  measures  the  speed  of  work  by  recording 
the  number  of  problems  "attempted"  and  the  accuracy  of  the  work  by 
recording  the  number  of  problems  which  were  "right"  or  correct.  The 
four  columns  show  what  per  cent,  of  the  two  grades  "attempted"  or  got 
"right"  any  specific  number  of  problems  ranging  from  20  to  o.  For 
example,  the  table  shows  that  0%  of  the  4th  Grade  attempted  20  prob- 
lems while  5%  of  the  8th  Grade  attempted  that  number,  and  it  shows 
that  naturally  0%  of  the  4th  Grade  got  20  problems  right,  while  2%  of 
the  8th  Grade  did  solve  that  number  correctly.  It  shows  further  that 
1%  of  the  4th  Grade  attempted  12  problems  as  against  9%  of  the  8th 
Grade,  and  that  1%  of  the  4th  Grade  got  12  problems  right,  as  against 
5%  in  the  8th  Grade.  If  we  want  to  know  just  how  many  children  at- 
tempted or  solved  correctly  12  or  more  problems  in  the  two  grades  we 
must  add  up  all  the  percents.  in  the  table  for  12  problems  and  better. 
This  gives  us  the  following:  5%  of  the  4th  Grade  attempted  12  or 
more  problems  as  against  46%  of  the  8th  Grade  and  2%  of  the  4th 
Grade  got  right  12  or  more  problems  as  against  21%  of  the  8th  Grade. 
All  of  this  is  shown  diagrammatically  in  Plate  XIX. 

The  averages  of  the  4th  and  8th  Grades  are  given  at  the  bottom  of 
the  table.  The  8th  Grade  has  done  just  about  twice  as  well  as  the  4th 
Grade  on  the  basis  of  these  figures.  In  terms  of  such  figures  one  would 
expect  that  all  8th  Grade  children  would  be  superior  to  all  4th  Grade 
children  for  the  former  averages  8.4  problems  correct  to  3.8  problems 
for  the  latter.  But  a  study  of  the  table  and  particularly  the  plate 
shows  that  this  is  false.  Fifty-one  of  the  children  in  the  8th  Grade 
could  be  put  in  the  4th  Grade  and  a  corresponding  number  in  the 
4th  Grade  be  put  in  the  8th  Grade  and  the  averages  of  the  two 
grades  for  accuracy  would  not  be  affected  at  all.  When  we  give 
our  8th  Grade  children  a  diploma,  graduating  them  into  the  High 
School,  we  feel  that  the  diploma  means  that  they  are  up  to  8th  Grade 
standards  and  far  superior  to  7th,  or  6th,  or  5th,  or  certainly  4th  Grade 
standards.  But  apparently  many  in  the  class  are  not.  For  here  in  this 
perfectly  typical  illustration  based  on  about  11,000  children,  38  in  every 
hundred  8th  Grade  children  are  no  difiFerent  from  38  other  children  in 

*S.  A.  Courtis.  Educational  Diagnosis,  Second  Indiana  Eriucational  Conference,  1915, 
p.    154. 


LESSON   26  139 

the  4th  Grade  as  regards  their  speed  of  adding  and  51  in  every  hun- 
dred 8th  Grade  children  are  no  different  from  51  other  4th  Grade  chil- 
dren as  regards  their  ability  to  add  correctly  columns  of  figures. 

This  comparison  between  the  two  grades  may  be  made  in  another 
way.  The  average  number  of  problems  solved  correctly  in  the  4th 
Grade  is  3.8.  There  are  11  children  in  the  8th  Grade  inferior  to  the 
average  of  4th  Grade  children.  And  in  like  manner  there  are  6  chil- 
dren in  the  4th  Grade  who  are  clearly  superior  to  the  8th  Grade  aver- 
age of  8.4  problems.  Averages  in  this  case  clearly  mean  very  little. 
The  differences  among  the  children  themselves  in  either  class  are  far 
more  significant  than  the  two  class  averages  based  on  the  individual 
records. 

In  a  similar  way  the  A.  D.  may  be  determined  for  the  data  in  Table 
VIII  concerning  the  ability  of  children  in  the  4th  and  8th  Grades  to 
add  columns  of  figures.  We  then  have: — 

Average  number  of  problems  attempted  in  4th  Grade  6.44,  A.  D.  1.94 

Average  number  of  problems  attempted  in  8th  Grade  11.65,  •^-  D.  2.69 

Average  number  of  problems  correctly  solved  in  4th  Grade     3.81,  A.  D.  2.19 

Average  number  of  problems  correctly  solved  in  8th  Grade      8.41,  A.  D.  3.09 

As  pointed  out  in  Lesson  22  the  size  of  these  A.  D.'s  immediately 
warns  us  against  supposing  that  all  the  children  are  equal  to  the  aver- 
age for  their  grade.  They  also  confirm  again  the  point  made  in  L,esson 
24  that  the  greater  the  training  the  more  the  individuals  are  different. 
Inspection  of  the  surfaces  of  distribution  in  Plate  XIX,  as  well  as  the 
size  of  these  A.  D.'s  shows  that  the  members  of  the  8th  Grade  differ 
more  among  themselves  than  do  the  members  of  the  ^i\\  Grade.  This 
fact  would  be  all  the  more  clearly  shown  if  the  children  who  have 
dropped  out  of  school  between  the  4th  and  8th  Grades,  were  present  in 
this  8th  Grade.  For  most  of  them  would  appear  at  the  lower  end  of 
the  surface  of  distribution. 

This  matter  of  how  children  differ  among  themselves  is  a  very  im- 
portant problem  affecting  our  whole  educational  system  in  a  very  pro- 
found way.  When  we  realize  that  51  of  8th  Grade  children  add  col- 
umns of  figures  no  more  accurately  than  a  corresponding  numher  of 
4th  Grade  children  we  feel  that  something  must  be  wrong  with  our 
school  system.  All  of  our  methods  of  study,  all  of  our  methods  for 
supervision,  and  all  of  our  administration  schemes  should  be  subjected 
to  careful  scrutiny  in  order  to  see  if  any  of  them  are  the  cause  for  this 
astounding  comparison.  Possibly,  radical  changes  might  produce  a 
more  uniform  proficiency  in  the  grades.  Possibly  the  graded  system 
itself  is  at  fault.  Possibly  the  differences  discussed  here  are  inherent 
in  children  themselves,  so  that  very  little  or  nothing  can  be  don2  to 


I40  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

rectify  the  matter.  If  that  is  the  case,  then,  changes  possibly  should 
be  made  so  that  8th  Grade  diplomas  might  have  a  more  definite  mean- 
ing than  they  now  apparently  have. 

LESSON  27.     HOW  SHOULD  STUDENTS  BE  GRADED? 

One  of  the  most  perplexing  problems  in  education  today  is  that  of 
grading  students.  Until  very  recently  the  subject  was  ignored,  for  it 
was  taken  for  granted  that  if  a  person  was  capable  of  teaching  his 
class  he  was  capable  of  grading  the  students  in  that  class.  Even  to- 
day, the  vast  majority  of  teachers  consider  it  their  inalienable  right  to 
grade  as  they  please  and  strenuously  resent  any  interference  with 
their  methods.  Recent  studies  made  on  this  subject  show,  however, 
that  teachers  differ  very  widely  in  the  way  they  grade  their  students. 
In  fact,  the  variation  is  so  great  that  it  is  perfectly  apparent  that  all 
cannot  be  grading  their  students  fairly.  And  when  "honors"  are 
based  on  the  grades  of  different  instructors  the  injustice  of  the  present 
system  is  clearly  apparent.  A  friend  of  the  writer  deliberately  re- 
stricted his  work  as  far  as  possible  to  the  three  departments  of  Latin, 
German,  and  History  in  a  great  university,  because  he  realized  that 
it  was  easy  to  make  high  grades  there  and  he  was  determined  to  win 
Phi  Beta  Kappa.  These  three  departments  granted  "A's"  to  30%  of 
their  students,  while  many  other  departments  granted  "A's"  to  less 
than  5%  of  their  students.  He  made  his  Phi  Beta  Kappa  key  but 
at  the  expense  of  a  broad  well-rounded  college  training.  If  he  had 
taken  courses  from  many  departments  he  would  have  stood  certainly 
less  than  half  the  chance  of  getting  high  grades  and  probably  not 
more  than  one-third  the  chance. 

Below  are  given  (See  Table  IX)  the  grades  which  an  instructor 
awarded  a  class  in  history.  They  are  the  grades  from  three  examina- 
tions, and  the  final  grade  for  the  semester  is  to  be  made  up  from  them, 
each  of  the  three  to  count  one-third  of  the  final  grade.  (The  grades 
were  obtained  by  the  instructor  assigning  definite  values  to  each  ques- 
tion or  part  of  a  question,  scoring  the  student  in  terms  of  each  ques- 
tion, and  finally  totalling  all  these  separate  scores.  The  grades  given 
here  have  been  modified  somewhat  by  the  writer  but  they  approximate 
in  a  general  way  the  grades  actually  given  by  this  instructor.) 

Plot  surfaces  of  distribution  for  the  three  sets  of  grades  listed 
below.  ' 


LESSON   27 


141 


TABLE  IX     THE  GRADES  GIVEN  BY  AN  INSTRUCTOR  IN  THREE 
EXAMINATIONS.  WHAT  SHOULD  BE  THE  FINAL 
GRADE    OF    EACH    STUDENT? 

Final 
Grade 


Students 

First  Exam. 

Sec.  Exam. 

Third  Exam 

I 

60 

100 

70 

2 

55 

90 

55 

3 

SO 

80 

80 

4 

45 

95 

55 

S 

45 

85 

70 

6 

40 

95 

50 

7 

40 

80 

50 

8 

35 

70 

65 

9 

35 

85 

45 

10 

30 

75 

60 

II 

30 

80 

50 

12 

30 

90 

75 

13 

25 

95 

30 

14 

25 

90 

60 

IS 

20 

90 

55 

16 

20 

85 

55 

17 

20 

8e 

35 

18 

15 

100 

50 

19 

15 

65 

40 

20 

10 

80 

45 

21 

10 

85 

35 

22 

5 

85 

45 

23 

5 

60 

30 

24 

0 

75 

25 

Answer  the  following  questions: — 

1.  Who  is  responsible  for  the  low  grades  in  the  first  examination  and 
the  high  grades  in  the  second  examination  ?  Do  the  grades  mean  that 
the  students  loafed  before  the  first  examination  and  studied  hard 
before  the  second  ?  Or  do  they  mean  that  the  first  examination  was  too 
hard  or  too  long  and  the  second  too  easy  or  too  short?  Or  do  they 
mean  that  the  course  of  study  was  poorly  organized  at  the  beginning 
and  the  teaching  was  poor  at  the  start  and  after  the  poor  showing  in 
the  first  examination  the  teacher  "woke  up"  and  "got  busy"  and  did 
good  teaching? 

Who,  then,  is  primarily  responsible  for  the  grades  in  the  first  exami- 
nation ranging  from  60  to  o  and  in  the  second  examination  from 
100  to  60? 

2.  Which  grade  represents  the  greater  ability,  60  given  in  the  first 
examination  or  80  given  in  the  second?  60  is  20%  inferior  to  80,  of 
course.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  only  one  student  received  60  in  the 
first  examination  and  none  received  a  higher  rating,  whereas  in  the 
second  examination  5  students  received  80  and  14  more  received 
higher  grades  than  80. 


142  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  Tl'ACHEKS 

3.  If  we  arrange  the  students  by  order  of  merit  according  to  their 
grades  in  the  three  examinations,  we  find  that  the 

best  student  got  60,  100  and  80,  respectively, 
the  1 2th  student  got  30,  85  and  50,  respectively,  and 
the  poorest  student  got  o,  60  and  25,  respectively. 
Are  60,  100  and  80  equal  then?  or  30.  85  and  50?  or  o.  60  and  25? 

4.  In  grading  examination  papers  should  we  grade  in  terms  of  the 
"ideal"  paper,  the  best  paper,  the  paper  of  an  average  student,  or  the 
poorest  paper?  With  which  one  of  these  standards  is  the  teacher 
most  Ukely  to  be  familiar?  Which  one  is  most  likely  to  fluctuate 
from  year  to  year? 

5.  What  final  grades  would  you  give  these  24  students  on  the  basis 
of  the  three  examinations?  Plot  the  surface  of  distribution  for  the 
grades  you  assign. 

6.  Are  your  final  grades  fair  to  the  students?  to  the  instructor?  to 
students  in  other  classes  in  the  institution?  to  other  instructors?  to 
the  institution  as  a  whole?    Explain. 

Hand  in  your  report  at  the  next  class-hour. 


LESSON  28— METHODS  OF  GRADING  STUDENTS* 

The  matter  of  grading  students  in  a  class  is  a  subject  that  is  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  subject  of  individual  differences.  It  is 
introduced  here  as  an  illustration  of  how  this  subject  is  related  in 
still  another  way  to  educational  theory  and  practice. 

SYSTEMS  OP   MARKING  STUDENTS. 

Grading  on  Percentage  Basis  with  Prescribed  Passing  Mark.  One 
of  the  two  most  universally  used  systems  of  grading  students  is  to  give 
students  grades  ranging  from  o  to  lOO,  with  some  grade  as  50,  or  60, 
or  75,  or  even  80,  as  a  passing  mark. 

The  theory  underlying  the  granting  of  percentages  is  that  the 
student  is  graded  in  terms  of  absolute  proficiency.  If  he  gets  90  in 
an  examination  in  arithmetic  or  spelling,  he  has  done  90%  of  the 
examination  correctly.  The  system  works  fairly  well  here.  But  it 
falls  down  completely  in  such  subjects  as  English  Composition,  or 
history  or  geography,  etc.  For  who  knows  what  is  absolute  profi- 
ciency in  composition  work  for  5th  grade  children?  How  does  such 
a  standard  differ  from  the  4th  grade,  or  from  the  6th  grade  ?  Actuall\- 
in  ordinary  practise  the  grades  represent  at  best  only  a  certain  per- 
centage of  what  the  teacher  considers  the  class  can  do.  It  is  based 
on  two  very  variable  things — the  teacher's  estimate  of  what  the  class 
can  do,  and  second — the  class  itself.  If  the  class  is  better  than  usual, 
the  teacher's  grades  stand  for  better  work  than  usual ;  if  the  class  is 
poorer  than  usual,  the  teacher's  grades  represent  poorer  work  than 
usual.  Despite  the  best  efforts  of  any  teacher  his  grades  are  not 
standardized  on  the  basis  of  a  fixed  absolute  standard  but  vary  with 
the  calibre  of  his  pupils.  It  is  impossible  under  such  conditions  to 
ever  expect  that  a  "85"  will  represent  a  definite  standard  of  work  in 
a  particular  course.  The  85  will  vary  from  year  to  year  with  the 
same  teacher,  and  it  will  vary  with  every  two  teachers,  depending 
on  those  teachers'  estimates  of  what  a  class  can  do.  (All  of  these 
statements  have  been  substantiated  in  every  investigation  on  this 
subject  and  are  no  longer  open  to  argument.) 

Grading  on  Bcisis  of  Five  Groups.  The  other  most  universally  used 
system  of  grading  students  is  to  give  the  students  grades  in  terms  of 
about  five  letters  or  numbers,  such  as  A,  B,  C,  D,  and  F ;  or  E,  S,  M, 


•CLASS-HOUR 

IN    CLASS 

WRITE  UP 

READ 

38 
29 

Discuss,    Lesson    27 
Experiment,    Les.   39 

Lesson    29 

Lesson   2S 

143 


144  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    i'OR  'iKACill-RS 

I.  and  F;  or  again  i,  2,  3,  4,  and  5.  The  A,  E,  or  i  is  given  to  the 
best  students ;  the  B,  S,  or  2,  to  the  next  best  group ;  etc.  The  F  or 
5  is  considered  as  failure.  Sometimes  the  fourth  grade,  D.  1,  or  4  is 
'•not  passing"  and  sometimes  it  is  considered  as  "conditioned"'  requiring 
another  examination.  At  still  other  institutions  D  is  a  passing  grade 
but  entitles  the  student  to  but  8ofo  credit,  so  that  in  a  5-hour  course 
the  student  with  a  D  will  receive  but  4  hours  credit. 

It  is  because  of  insurmountable  difficulties  pointed  out  above  in 
connection  with  the  percentage  system  of  marking  that  this  system  of 
grading  students  with  five  letters  has  arisen.  The  whole  scheme  of 
grading  students  on  the  basis  of  an  absolute  standard  of  perfection 
is  thrown  away,  or  almost  thrown  away*  The  teacher  then  roughly 
divides  the  class  into  five  groups,  the  excellent  students,  the  good,  the 
fair,  the  inferior,  and  the  failures.  More  or  less  of  the  old  scheme 
survives  in  the  case  of  deciding  just  what  will  constitute  a  passing 
standard  as  distinguished  from  a  failure.  The  essential  thing,  how- 
ever, is  the  division  of  the  class  into  five  groups  in  terms  of  their 
general  ability  and  performance  in  the  particular  class. 

Anyone  familiar  with  the  laws  underlying  individual  differences 
immediately  realizes  that  these  five  groups  should  not  contain  an  equal 
number  of  students; — that  the  largest  number  of  students  should  be 
in  the  middle  group,  and  that  relatively  few  should  be  in  the  two 
extreme  groups,  the  excellent  students  and  the  failures.  But  the 
study  of  how  teachers  grade  students  shows  clearly  that  teachers  diflfer 
enormously  as  to  how  they  distribute  their  grades  under  this  scheme. 
In  Table  X  is  shown  the  distrbution  of  grades  in  seven  courses  in 
the  University  of  Missouri  prior  to  1908.  It  is  clear  from  this  table, 
and  it  represents  conditions  in  every  institution  of  that  time  and  most 
institutions  today,  that  a  student  could  quite  easily  win  "honors,"  or 
a  scholarship,  or  make  Phi  Beta  Kappa  by  electing  Philosophy,  Eco- 
nomics, etc.,  but  would  have  an  extremely  small  chance  of  obtaining 
these  honors  if  he  grouped  in  Chemistry.  Yet  an  "A"  counted 
equally  toward  these  honors  whether  obtained  in  Philosophy  or  Chem- 
istry III.  In  the  same  way  a  poor  student  would  have  little  trouble  in 
passing  Philosophy  but  would  stand  a  good  chance  of  being  "flunked"  in 
English  II  or  Chemistry  III.  The  problem  educators  are  now  facing 
in  regard  to  grading  students  is  how  to  make  an  "A"  or  "F"  mean  the 
same  thing  whether  given  by  Prof.  Smith  or  Prof.  Brown,  whether 
given  in  Philosophy  or  Chemistry,  whether  given  in  1915  or  1917. 

•Of  course,  in  those  cases  where  a  teacher  marks  a  student  by  these  five  letters  but 
always  translates  the  letter  into  a  numerical  figure,  so  that  A  equals  100  to  95;  B,  95  to 
85;  etc.;  he  is  practically  following  the  first  scheme  and  not  the  second.  When  the 
second   scheme  is  used   properly   there   are  no  numerical   values   attached   to  the   letters. 


LESSON   28  145 

TABLE    X.    SHOWING    THE    RELATIVE    FREQUENCY     OF    FOUR 

GRADES  A.  B,  C,  AND  F.  AS  FOUND  BY  MAX  MEYER  IN 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  MISSOURI,  IN  1908. 

;Table  based   on    Max    Meyer,   "The   Grading    of   Students,"  Science,   August 

21,  1Q08,  p.  3.) 

Total   No. 

Course                                        Distribution  of  Grades  of  Students 

A         B         C          F  Considered 

Pbilosophy                                       55        33        10          2  623 

Economics                                        39        37        I9          5  ^"i 

German  II                                       26        38        25         11  941 

Education                                       18        38        35          9  266 

Mechanics                                       18        26        42        14  495 

English   II                                         9        28        35        28  1098 

Chemistry  III                                   in         60        28  1903 

An  important  step  toward  obtaining  equitable  grading  has  been  to 
apply  the  conception  of  our  normal  surface  of  distribution  to  the  prob- 
lem. Any  group  of  students  (barring  exceptional  cases  considered  be- 
low) will  divide  themselves  up  into  inferior,  average,  and  superior 
students  and  these  three  groups  will  approximate  259^0,  50%  and 
25%  in  size,  respectively.  They  will  do  so  if  the  method  of  grading 
them  is  fair.  If,  however,  the  examination  is  too  easy  or  too  difficult 
there  will  appear  not  a  normal  distribution  but  one  in  which  there  are 
too  many  superior  or  too  many  inferior  students,  respectively.  If  in 
two  classes  of  100  students,  Prof.  Smith  and  Prof.  Brown  require  a 
fair  amount  of  work,  then  25%  of  the  students  will  do  superior  work, 
50%  average  work  and  25%  inferior  work.  If  Prof.  Smith  requires 
too  much  and  Prof.  Brown  too  little,  then  it  may  appear  that  the 
former  has  40%)  inferior  and  10%  superior  students  whereas  the 
latter  has  10%  inferior  and  40%  superior  students.  If  we  require 
each  professor  to  grade  25%  of  his  students  superior,  50%  average, 
and  25%  inferior,  then  we  recognize  (i)  that  one  class  of  students 
taken  as  a  whole  is  about  equal  to  any  other  class  and  (2)  that 
students  are  graded  in  terms  of  what  an  average  student  will  do  and 
not  in  terms  of  a  variable  standard  of  what  is  required  by  diflferent 
instructors.  In  such  a  case  we  know  that  a  "superior"  student  for 
Prof.  Smith  has  actually  done  better  work  than  %  of  the  students  in 
his  class  and  that  a  "superior"  student  for  Prof.  Brown  has  likewise 
excelled  %  of  his  class.  A  given  grade  is  not  then  a  grade  in  terms 
of  any  absolute  standard  of  perfection  but  is  a  grade  in  terms  of 
what  average  students  can  do. 

With  such  a  requirement  the  irregular  grading  shown  in 
Table  X  was  eliminated  to  a  large  extent  at  the  University 
of  Missouri.  The  average  of  all  the  grades  for  the  under- 
graduate courses  became  in   191 1,   23.7%   superior,  49.9%    average, 


146  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

and  26.4%  inferior.  Nineteen  of  the  instructors  distributed  their 
grades  as  shown  in  Table  XL  Comparison  of  the  individual 
instructor's  gradings  in  this  table  with  those  in  Table  X  shows  an 
enormous  improvement  in  the  way  of  uniform  grading  on  the  part  of 
the  faculty.  An  '"E"  now  means  nearly  the  same  high  grade  of 
scholarship  whether  given  by  one  instructor  or  another.  The  gradings 
in  Table  XI  are,  however,  still  too  irregular  as  respecting  Grades  "I" 
and  ''F"  to  be  entirely  satisfactory. 

The  Missouri  System  of  Grading.  As  can  be  seen  from  Table  XI, 
the  Missouri  system  of  grading  students  provides  first  of  all  for  the 
students  being  divided  into  three  groups, — superior,  average,  and 
mierior, — so  that  the  first  group  comprises  the  best  25%  of  the  >tu- 
denls,  the  second  group  the  middle  50%,  and  the  third  the  remainder. 
The  superior  and  inferior  are  further  divided  so  that  in  effect  there 
are  five  grades  of  E  (excellent),  S  (superior),  M  (medium),  I  (in- 
ferior), and  F  (failure).     As  illustrated  in  Plate  XX  the  surface  of 

TABLE  XI.    SHOWING  THE  RELATIVE  FREQUENCY  OF  THE  FIVE 

GRADES  E,  S,  M,  I,  AND  F,  AS  USED  BY  VARIOUS  INSTRUCTORS 

IN   THE  UNIVERSITY   OF   MISSOURI   IN    191 1. 

(Based  on  the  "Report  of  the  Committee  on  Statistics  on  the  Grading  sf  the 

Semester,"  Closing  Feb.,  191 1.) 


Instructors 

%  E 

%  S 

%  u 

%  I 

%   F 

A 

7 

29 

51 

8 

5 

B 

5 

23 

52 

15 

5 

C 

3 

21 

51 

21 

4 

D 

7 

21 

56 

8 

8 

E 

6 

15 

60 

13 

6 

F 

I 

22 

55 

17 

5 

G 

2 

17 

64 

II 

6 

H 

3 

21 

52 

18 

6 

I 

3 

24 

46 

21 

6 

J 

3 

20 

51 

20 

6 

K 

3 

20 

S3 

16 

8 

L 

3 

23 

47 

17 

10 

M 

2 

19 

55 

14 

10 

N 

4 

19 

45 

23 

9 

0 

5 

20 

43 

21 

11 

P 

7 

21 

47 

9 

16 

Q 

3 

13 

52 

19 

13 

R 

5 

II 

43 

29 

12 

S 

3 

15 

47 

20 

15 

Average 

f 

19.7 

1 

n 

16.8 

1 

? 

23.6  51.0  25.3 

distribution   is   so  divided   that   the   difference   in   ability  represented 
by  Grades  E  and  S  is  equal  to  the  difference  between  S  and  M,  or 


LKSSON   28 


147 


Grades  7 


Plate  XX.  A  normal  surface  of  distribution  divided  up  Into 
five  groups  showing  five  grades  of  scholarship.     At  the 
University  of  Missouri  thes^  five  grades  are  called  P  (fail- 
xire).  I   (inferior),  M  (ra^dium) ,  S  (superior),  and  B  (ezoel-* 
lent).  At  Peabody  College  the  grades  are  called  F   (failure), 
D  (inferior),  C   (average),  B  (superior),  and  A  (excellent.! 

M  and  I,  or  I  and  F.  The  standard  which  all  instructors  are  ex- 
pected to  reach  in  their  grading  is  then  that  $0%  of  the  students 
shall  receive  an  M,  22%  an  S,  22%  an  I,  3%  an  E,  and  3%  an  F. 

One  objection  to  this  scheme  will  immediately  occur  to  some  readers. 
Maybe  half  the  class  has  actually  failed  and  you  have  given  most  of 
them  a  C  or  D.  Will  that  method  of  marking  be  fair?  Yes,  cer- 
tainly; for  if  half  the  class  fails,  who  is  to  blame?  Undoubtedly,  in 
practically  every  case,  no  one  but  the  teacher.  The  examination  was 
too  difficult,  or  too  long,  or  because  of  poor  discipline  the  students 
had  not  studied.  This  system  throws  the  blame  for  poor  work  in  the 
class  on  the  person  who  deserves  the  blame — the  teacher.  Of  course, 
sometimes  a  group  of  students  will  not  work,  then  the  only  final  resort 
is  to  "flunk"  them.  But  such  cases  are  rare  as  compared  with  those 
where  the  trouble  lies  in  the  main  with  the  instructor. 

Here  are  the  faculty  rules  at  George  Peabody  College  for  Teachers 
on  this  subject.  They  make  plain  that  the  above  system  applies  di- 
rectly to  large  classes  and  only  indirectly  to  small  classes,  and  possibly 
not  at  all  to  exceptional  classes,  such  as  in  graduate  courses. 

''It  is  fair  to  assume  that  the  average  student  in  any  undergraduate  course  is 
equal  in  ability  to  the  average  student  in  any  other  undergraduate  course.  Con- 
sequently it  is  fair  to  expect  that  all  members  of  the  faculty  will  in  the  long  run 


148  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

(when  they  have  marked  500  students,  say)  give  approximately  the  same  per 
cent,  of  students  each  of  the  five  grades. 

"It  is  also  fair  to  assume  that  the  calibre  of  classes  does  vary,  and  that  this  is 
particularly  true  in  the  case  of  very  small  classes.  Consequently  it  is  fair  to 
expect  that  the  mcmlurs  (if  the  faculty  will  vary  considerably  in  the  way  they 
mark  the  members  of  particular  classes. 

"We  expect  then  in  the  long  run  that  the  members  of  the  faculty  will  all  use 
the  same  standards.  We  also  expect,  on  the  other  hand,  that  there  will  be 
noticeable  variation  in  the  way  individual  classes  will  be  marked.  In  the  light 
of  these  assumptions,  the  following  rules  are  laid  down: 

"1.  The  quality  of  the  student's  work  in  a  course  shall  be  reported  to  the  regis- 
trar by  use  of  the  following  grades :  A,  B,  C,  D,  and  F. 

"2.  The  grade  of  "C"  is  designed  to  represent  the  performance  of  the  mid- 
dle 50%  of  the  class.  The  grades  of  "B,"  and  "D"  represent  work  that  is  su- 
perior and  inferior,  respectively,  to  that  of  the  middle  group.  The  grade  of 
"A"  is  reserved  for  markedly  superior  work,  while  the  grade  of  "F"  is  de- 
signed for  those  who  have  failed  and  shall  receive  no  credit  for  their  work. 
Students  receiving  the  grade  of  "D"  will  receive  but  80%  of  the  full  credit  at- 
tached to  the  course,  i.  e.,  in  a  five-hour  course  such  a  student  will  receive  but 
four  hours  credit. 

"3.  It  is  recognized  that  the  more  advanced  the  student  the  more  selected  is 
the  class  with  which  he  will  be  grouped  and  the  system  of  marking  will  vary 
proportionately. 

"4.  Experience  has  shown  that  in  the  long  run  the  instructor  will  give  approxi-^ 
mately  3%  of  his  students  an  "A,"  22%  of  his  students  a  "B,"  50%  a  "C," 
22%  a  "D,"  and  3%  an  "F'." 

Such  a  uniformity  of  grades  from  the  members  of  a  faculty  is 
highly  desirable  and  is  to  be  expected  so  long  as  it  can  be  assumed 
that  the  calibre  of  students  in  one  class  is  equivalent  to  those  in  an- 
other class.  If  an  instructor  gives  proportionately  more  low  or  high 
grades  in  his  classes  than  this  ideal,  he  declares  in  so  doing  that  his 
students  are  poorer  or  better  than  the  students  in  other  classes.  This 
's,  of  course,  in  many  cases  an  actual  fact,  and  when  so,  an  instructor 
should  mark  accordingly.  But  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events  one 
class  is  pretty  nearly  equivalent  to  another  class  as  far  as  ability  of  the 
students  composing  it  is  concerned. 

Varying  the  Amount  of  Credit  with  the  Grade  Given.  The  Uni- 
versity of  Missouri  further  provides  that  students  shall  obtain  varying 
amounts  of  credit  for  their  work  according  as  they  obtain  high  or  low 
grades.  At  the  present  time  in  a  one  hour  course,  a  student  obtaining 
an  E  earns  1.15  hours  credit,  a  student  obtaining  an  S  earns  i.io 
hours  credit,  a  student  obtaining  an  M  earns  i.oo  hour  credit,  a  student 
obtaining  an  I  earns  0.85  hour  credit,  and  a  student  obtaining  an  F 
earns  o  credit.  Prof.  Max  Meyer,  who  has  been  responsible  for  the 
adoption  of  the  Missouri  scheme  of  grading,  is  now  advocating  that 
the  grades  shall  carry  these  amounts  of  credit: — E  (1.2  hrs.  credit), 
S  (i.i  hrs.  credit),  M  (i.o  hr.  credit),  I  (0.9  hr.  credit),  and  P 
(poor)    (0.8  hr.  credit).     A  student  "who  ought  to  repeat  the  course 


LESSON   28  149 

before  his  attainments  are  recognized,  and  who  therefore  is  marked 
F  by  his  teachers,  would  receive  no  credit  toward  graduation.* 

PRESENT    TENDENCIES    IN    GRADING. 

Among  colleges  and  universities  the  tendency  is  away  from  the 
percentage  system  to  the  group  system  and  to  a  limited  extent  toward 
the  Missouri  system,  which  has  been  adopted  more  or  less  entirely  in 
a  number  of  institutions. 

Among  secondary  schools,  today,  30%  employ  percentage  systems 
and  65%  the  group  system.  Of  those  using  the  group  system,  44% 
have  three  grades  above  passing,  52%  have  four  grades,  and  4%  have 
five  grades.  The  National  Conference  Committee  on  Standards  of 
Colleges  and  Secondary  Colleges  recommends  'that,  ("if  a  group 
system  is  used,  the  letters  A,  B,  C,  or  A,  B,  C,  D  be  employed  to  indi- 
cate passing  grades,  and  that  E  or  F,  or  both  E  and  F,  be  reserved 
for  failure.  The  committee  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
majority  of  colleges  use  four  groups  above  passing,  and  that  the 
tendency  in  schools  appears  to  be  in  that  direction. 

"The  committee  recommends  that  schools  using  a  percentage  sys- 
tem follow  what  appears  to  be  the  most  common  practice,  of  using  60 
as  the  passing  grade.** 

So  in  school  grades  any  student  must  be  compared  with  his  class 
and  with  the  average  of  the  class,  not  with  the  best  one  in  the  class, 
aiid  fortimately,  as  investigations  have  shown  that  the  average  per- 
formance in  one  class  is  approximately  the  same  as  that  in  other 
classes,  we  do  have  quite  a  stable  standard  from  which  to  measure. 

DISCUSSION   OF  THE  PROBLEM   ASSIGNED  IN  LESSON  27. 

With  these  general  considerations  before  us  let  us  turn  now  and 
consider  the  problem  which  was  assigned  in  Lesson  27. 

The  Surfaces  of  Distribution ;  What  They  Show.  The  grades  from 
the  three  examinations  given  in  Lesson  27  are  plotted  in  surfaces  of 
distribution  in  Plate  XXL  The  three  surfaces  approximate  the  nor- 
mal surface  of  distribution.  The  first  one  is  long  drawn  out:  the 
effect  obtained  when  the  exam'ination  is  too  difficult.  The  low  grades 
show  the  same  fact.  The  second  distribution  is  skewed — most  of  the 
grades  are  bunched  at  the  upper  end.  This  is  characteristic  of  too 
easy  an  examination  or  one  where  nearly  all  could  answer  the  ques- 
tions in  the  alloted  time.  If  the  time  had  been  cut  in  half  the  distribu- 
tion would  have  resembled  that  of  the  third  examination. 

If  we  followed  the  old  scheme  of  marking  where,  say,  60  was  the 
passing  mark,  we  would,  in  the  first  examination,  if  we  were  true  to 

•Max  Meyer,  The  Administration  of  College  Grades,  School  and  Society,  Oct,  23,   1915. 

••Report    in   School   and   Society,    March    1,    1918,    by    Headmaster    Ferrand. 


ISO 


INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 


our  Standards  and  had  the  requisite  courage,  fail  all  but  one  in  the 
class.  In  the  second  examination  we  would  pass  every  one,  and  in  the 
third  we  would  fail  17,  or  71%  of  the  class.  Averaging  the  three 
sets  of  grades  we  obtain  the  results  given  at  the  bottom  of  Plate  XXI, 
These  grades  would  necessitate  our  failing  14  members  of  the  class,  or 
58%.  If  the  passing  grade  were  75  but  one  of  the  class  would  pass. 
If  it  were  50  then  7  would  fail,  or  29%. 


f 

i> 

c 
n     u 

B 

A 

t}2l  <f 

l^f^n  1 

7  S 

VL 

ItUii 

iS  i3  I*  i 

•  y  5  a 

1 

f        I>         C      B    A 

uii 

n  2t 

IS 

•  r  H, 

IT  13 

zt 

7  1 

ii.  »> 

ii 

Z3 

If  S  M> 

4  i- 

z  7 

1 

1 

C             B           h 
1 

lUy 

Ziiit  tS 

lilt 

Z»  1  f 

It      S 

.J1 

13  .7  i^ 

4  »  z 

10  Si  )i 

3 

F       P         C        B       A 

>< 

ly 

u 

•9 

It 

II  If 

Its 

li 

16 

.0  i 

*»  3 

wii.i 

!.^  3  ,7 

V   J 

» 

Plat^  Jul*  The  ezamliiati on  grades  glTan  in 
Table  U  and  the  oomptited  final-  grades 
plotted  In  snrfaaes  of  die-tribution,   to- 
gether with  their  conversion  into  Srades 
A,  B,  C,   D  and  F. 


LESSON   28  151 

This  example  Ls  an  extreme  one,  but  is  based  on  an  actual  case. 
It  is,  however,  useful  here  as  it  points  out  in  an  exaggerated  form  the 
real  situation  that  confronts  the  majority  of  instructors  in  their  mark- 
ing of  students'  papers.  The  grades  a  class  actually  receives,  con- 
sidering the  class  as  a  whole,  are  dependent  on  the  instructor  and  him 
alone.  If  the  examination  is  difficult  the  class  as  a  whole  gets  low 
grades,  if  the  examination  is  easy  the  class  as  a  whole  gets  high 
grades.  Instructors  who  mark  low  are  generally  instructors  who 
require  much  from  their  students,  while  instructors  who  mark  high 
do  not  require  enough.  Of  course,  there  are  many  exceptions  to  this 
rule.  To  set  up  a  standard  such  as  60  or  75  as  a  passing  mark  is  to 
postulate  that  the  instructor  is  omnipotent,  that  he  knows  exactly 
how  easy  or  difficult  to  make  an  examination.  Such  an  assumption  is 
preposterous. 

The  only  method  now  known  to  education  whereby  the  standard  of 
a  class  may  be  determined  is  to  assume  that  the  average  student  in  one 
class  is  equal  to  the  average  student  in  another.  This  assumption 
is  correct  remarkably  often,  as  determined  by  actual  investigation. 
When  this  is  done,  the  middle  half  of  the  class,  regardless  of  whether 
they  obtain  30.  85,  or  50,  are  graded  C.  The  upper  fourth  are  graded 
A  or  B,  and  the  lower  fourth,  D  or  F.  Just  how  that  is  done  is  in<B- 
cated  in  Plate  XXI.  Theoretically  3%  should  receive  an  A  and  an 
equal  number  an  F.  In  actual  practice,  an  instructor  should  feel 
free  to  give  no  A  or  F,  or  several,  depending  on  the  circumstances  of 
the  case.    On  the  basis  of  Plate  XXI, 

I  student  would  receive  an  A,  or  4% 
6  students  would  receive  a  B,  or  25% 
10  students  would  receive  a  C,  or  42% 
5  students  would  receive  a  D,  or  21% 
2  students  would  receive  an  F,  or    S% 

The  A  and  F  grades  must  depend  on  circumstances. 

In  this  particular  case  Student  i  is  so  far  ahead  that  he  alone 
would  be  given  an  "A"  unless  the  work  of  the  class,  including  I's 
work,  was  not  very  good.  In  the  same  way  no  grade  of  "F"  might  be 
given  if  the  work  of  23  and  24  was  acceptable ;  or  if  the  work  was  poor 
19  might  also  be  given  an  "F."  But  in  the  long  run,  the  instructor 
should  give  grades  approximately  as  follows: — A-3%,  B-22%,  C-50%, 
D-22%  and  F-3%. 

Hoiv  to  Grade  Papers.  There  are  undoubtedly  many  good  methods 
of  grading  a  student's  paper.  Circumstances  will  determine  whether 
one  will  read  the  whole  paper  thru  and  grade  it  as  a  whole,  or  whether 
one  will  grade  each  part  and  then  total  the  parts.     The  two  give 


152 


INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 


about  the  same  result.  Regardless  of  how  the  papers  are  individually 
scored,  ivhen  that  operation  is  done,  one  should  convert  the  temporary 
grades  into  the  grades  A,  B,  C,  D,  and  F.  Divide  the  class  into  four 
fairly  eqticl  groups.  Grade  the  first  group  A  and  B,  the  two  middle 
groups  C,  and  the  fourth  group  D  and  P.  If  there  are  any  exceptionally 
good  or  had  papers  grade  them  A,  or  F,  accordingly. 

Some  instructors  find  the  easiest  method  is  to  read  the  paper  thru, 
judge  its  total  value  and  place  it  in  one  of  seven  piles  according"  to  its 
merit.  When  all  are  finished  the  piles  are  readjusted  if  the  first  two 
do  not  contain  approximately  25%,  the  next  three  50%  and  the  last 
two  25^.  They  are  then  graded,  respectively,  A.  B.  C+,  C,  C — ,  D 
and  F.  Practically  nothing  is  gained  by  the  subdivision  of  Group  C 
into  three  sub-divisions,  except  to  make  the  instructor  feel  he  is 
doing  a  more  accurate  job. 

Hoiio  to  Record  Grades.  The  practical  problem  arises,  how  shall 
I  keep  my  record  book?  In  Table  XII  are  presented  three  methods 
of  keeping  a  class-record.     The  first  method  consists  in  grading  in 


TABLE  XII. 


EXAMINATION  GRADES,  GIVEN  IN  TABLE  IX,  AVER- 
AGED BY  THREE  DIFFERENT  METHODS 


Stu- 

FIRST METHO  D 

SECOND  METHOD 

THIRD  METHOD 

By 

By 

dent 

1st 

2nd 

3rd 

Av 

let- 
ters 

1st 

2nd 

3rd 

Av 

1st 

2nd 

3rd 

Av 

let- 
ters 

1 

60 

100 

70 

77 

A 

A 

A 

B 

A 

4 

4 

3 



3.7 

A 

2 

55 

90 

55 

67 

B 

B 

B 

C 

B    1 

3 

3 

2 

2.7 

B 

3 

50 

80 

80 

70 

B 

B 

C 

A 

B    ! 

3 

2 

4 

3.0 

B 

4 

45 

95 

55 

6'; 

B 

B 

B 

C 

B    i 

3 

3 

2 

2.7 

B 

5 

45 

85 

70 

67 

B 

B 

C 

B 

B 

3 

2 

3 

2.7 

B 

6 

40 

95 

50 

62 

B 

B 

B 

C 

B 

3 

3 

2 

2.7 

B 

7 

40 

80 

50 

57 

C 

B 

C 

C 

C 

3 

2 

2 

2.3 

C 

8 

35 

70 

65 

57 

C 

C 

D 

B 

C 

2 

1 

3 

2.0 

C 

9 

35 

85 

45 

55 

C 

C 

C 

C 

C 

2 

2 

2 

2.0 

C 

10 

30 

75 

60 

55 

C 

C 

D 

B 

C 

2 

1 

3 

2.0 

C 

11 

30 

80 

SO 

53 

C 

C 

C 

C 

C 

2 

2 

2 

2.0 

C 

12 

30 

90 

75 

65 

B 

C 

B 

B 

B 

2 

3 

3 

2.7 

B 

13 

25 

95 

30 

50 

C 

C 

B 

D 

C 

2 

3 

1 

2.0 

C 

14 

25 

90 

60 

58 

c 

C 

B 

B 

B 

2 

3 

3 

2.7 

B 

15 

20 

90 

55 

53 

c 

C 

B 

C 

C 

2 

3 

2 

2.3 

C 

16 

20 

85 

55 

53 

c 

C 

C 

C 

C 

2 

2 

2 

2.0 

C 

17 

20 

80 

35 

45 

D 

C 

c 

D 

D 

2 

2 

1 

1.7 

D 

18 

15 

100 

SO 

55 

C 

D 

A 

C 

C 

4 

2 

2.3 

C 

19 

15 

65 

40 

40 

D 

D 

D 

D 

D 

1 

1 

1.0 

D 

20 

10 

80 

45 

45 

D 

D 

C 

C 

D 

1 

2 

2 

1.7 

D 

21 

10 

85 

35 

43 

D 

D 

C 

D 

D 

2 

1 

1.3 

D 

22 

5 

85 

45 

45 

D 

D 

C 

C 

D 

2 

2 

1.7 

D 

23 

5 

60 

30 

32 

F 

D 

F 

D 

F 

J 

1 

1 

0.7 

F 

24 

0 

'^ 

75 

33        F    1 

F 

D 

F 

F 

0 

0 

0 

0.3 

F 

LESSON   28 


153 


terms  of  figures  from  o  to  100,  recording  these  figures  and  finally 
averaging  them.  This  method  has  little  justification.  The  manipula- 
tions of  large  figures  takes  too  long  a  time,  even  when  one  has  an 
adding  machine  at  his  disposal. 

The  second  method  consists  of  recording  the  letter  grades.  It  is 
satisfactory,  except  when  it  comes  to  averaging  up  the  records.  With 
only  three  examinations  to  average  there  is  no  trouble,  but  if  one  has 
to  average  ten  grades,  how  shall  he  do  it?  For  example,  how  would 
vou  finally  grade  students  who  received  (a)  A,  B,  C,  C,  D,  B,  C,  C,  F, 
and  B  and  (b)  B,  B,  C,  D,  B,  D,  C,  C,  C,  and  A?  The  easiest  method 
of  keeping  one's  record  book  and  a  method  as  reliable  as  any  other  Is 
that  shown  as  the  third  method  in  Table  XII.  The  letters  A.  B,  C,  D, 
and  F  are  represented  in  the  record-book  by  the  figures  4,  3,  2,  i,  and  o, 
respectively.  (Figures  are  easier  to  write  than  letters  to  begin  with,  and 
they  can  readily  be  averaged.    Contrast  the  labor  involved  in  averaging 


f            DCS 

A 

/3 
/I 

11 

/(S  li 

5 

ZO 

i  H 

i 

IHI^ 

H  Zi  t) 

i    7|ZJ, 

1 

Plcte  XXII.    The  final 
grades,    oonputad  accord- 
ing to   ths   third  method 
in  Table  XII,   plotted   in 
a  surface  of  distribu- 
tion. 

them  with  that  of  averaging  the  figures  employed  in  the  first  method.) 
Averages  between  o  and  0.5  would  then  be  graded  F ;  between  0.5  and 
1.5,  D;  between  1.5  and  2.5,  C;  between  2.5  and  3.5,  B;  and  between 
3.5  and  4,  A.  This  scheme  tends,  however,  to  give  too  many  C's  and 
too  few  of  the  other  grades.  A  better  method  is  as  follows :  Before 
making  out  one's  final  grades,  plot  the  average  grades  in  a  surface 
of  distribution  as  shown  in  Plate  XXII,  and  award  the  final 
grades  according  to  their  position  on  that  surface. 

A  comparison  of  the  letter  grades  awarded  in  Plates  XXI  and  XXII 
shows  that  they  are  almost  identical.  The  laborious  attempt  at  great 
accuracy  pursued  in  the  first  method  of  recording  grades  (See  Table 


154  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

XII  and  Plate  XXI)  gives  practically  the  same  results  as  those  ob- 
tained by  the  easier  third  method  (See  Table  XII  and  Plate  XXII).  And 
in  the  case  of  Student  14,  after  all,  which  is  the  fairer  grade  for  him, 
a  "C  or  a  "B"? 

CONCLUSION. 

We  are  graded  in  life  not  according  to  some  ideal  standard  of  per- 
fection, but  in  comparison  with  our  fellows,  particularly  our  competi- 
tors. Edison  is  great,  not  because  he  approximates  perfection  but  be- 
cause he  is  superior  to  other  men.  Our  minister,  or  lawyer,  or  music 
teacher,  or  grocer  is  superior  or  inferior  in  comparison  with  other  min- 
isters, lawyers,  music  teachers,  or  grocers  we  know.  We  have  no 
standards  of  perfection  as  such.  Even  in  the  few  cases  where  we  do 
have  standards,  as  in  track  athletics,  we  honor  the  winner  of  the  hun- 
dred yard  dash  in  a  great  track  meet,  even  if  the  time  was  only  10  1-5 
seconds,  altho  that  is  far  from  the  world's  record. 


LESSON   29  15s 

LESSON  29— HOW  MAY  ONE  DIAGNOSE  THE  ABILITY  OF 

CHILDREN? 

In  Lessons  23  and  24  we  made  a  general  study  of  the  causes  of 
individual  differences.  The  general  laws  underlying  this  subject  were 
illustrated  with  results  obtained  by  averaging  the  data  from  a  class 
of  adults,  a  class  of  normal  4th  Grade  children,  and  a  class  of  mentally 
defective  children.  These  average  results  were  treated  as  tho  they 
were  representative  of  three  individuals  of  varying  degrees  of  hered- 
itary endowment  and  training. 

Today  we  wish  to  carry  this  study  further.  We  shall  have  before  us 
the  actual  learning  curves  of  several  children  and  we  shall  endeavor  to 
ascertain  what  we  can  about  the  hereditary  equipment  and  previous 
training  of  these  children  from  the  curves  themselves.  The  lesson 
will  serve  as  a  review  in  the  sense  that  previously  learned  material  on 
this  subject  will  needs  be  recalled  to  mind ;  it  will  also  serve  as  an 
advance  lesson  in  that  what  has  been  previously  learned  must  now 
be  utilized  in  a  new  way. 

In  Plates  XXIII  to  XXVI  are  given  the  individual  learning  curves 
of  eight  members  of  the  4th  Grade  class  previously  studied  in  Lesson 
24.  They  are  all  drawn  so  as  to  show  the  number  of  problem?  solved 
correctly  in  one  minute.  (They  actually  worked  two  minutes  and  the 
scores  reported  here  are  one-half  of  what  they  did  in  that  interval  of 
time.)  The  solid  line  represents  the  learning  in  Test  B — addition, 
while  the  broken  line  represents  the  learning  in  Test  BX — multipli- 
cation. In  the  first  curve  (A)  the  little  girl  advanced  from  24  prob- 
lems in  addition  to  40  in  one  minute  and  from  16  problems  to  31  in 
multiplication. 

ASSIGNMENT. 

1.  In  the  light  of  what  you  already  know  about  how  heredity  and 
training  affect  learning  curves  endeavor  to  formulate  just  as  definite 
comparisons  as  you  can  concerning  these  eight  children.  Arrange 
them  in  order  according  to  their  previous  training,  also  in  order 
according  to  their  innate  ability.    Defend  your  position. 

2.  Which  pupil,  if  any,  would  you  put  in  a  lower  grade?     Why? 

3.  Do  you  note  any  peculiarities  in  these  curves — characteristics 
that  you  have  not  previously  discovered?     If  so,  explain  them. 

(Three  of  the  learning  curves  in  addition  stop  before  15  trials  were 
made.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  children  were  transferred  to 
a  subtraction  test  as  soon  as  they  could  do  the  whole  addition  blank 
(i.  e.,  80  problems)  correctly  in  two  minutes.) 

Write  up  your  results  in  the  usual  way  and  hand  them  in  at  the 
next  class  hour. 


156 


INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TOCHERS 


«      ? 


CTi 


rT"!  J"  —^^  Java'  o    n 


~  K.    tin 


LESSON    29 


157 


LESSON  30— THE  EFFECT  OF  HEREDITY  AND  TRAINING 

ON  LEARNING* 

the;  use  of  lkarxixg  curves  in  teachixg. 

In  Plates  XXIII  to  XXVI  are  given  the  learning  curves  of  eight 
children  from  the  fourth  Grade,  and  in  Plate  XII  is  given  the  average 
curve  for  the  entire  class.  These  curves  represent  the  improvement 
that  took  place  in  simple  addition  and  multiplication  as  the  result  of 
4  minutes  of  actual  school  work  on  15  different  days.  There  is  no 
doubt,  however,  that  many  of  the  children  practised  on  such  work 
outside  of  school.  Nevertheless  the  improvement  shown  is  little  less 
than  marvelous  when  compared  with  what  is  ordinarily  obtained  in 
school  in  such  a  length  of  time.  It  is  only  fair  to  add  in  this  connection 
that  considerably  more  than  4  minutes  of  the  school  time  was  consumed 
in  the  work,  since  it  takes  time  to  give  out  and  collect  test  papers. 
Besides,  the  children  were  called  upon  to  correct  their  papers  and  plot 
their  own  learning  curves.  But  part  of  this  additional  time  must  be 
credited  to  teaching  the  children  how  to  draw  learning  curves  and 
their  meaning — a  most  valuable  lesson. 

Much  of  the  surprising  gain  registered  is  due  not  to  the  use  of 
the  test-blanks  themselves,  altho  they  are  valuable  adjuncts  to  teach- 
ing, but  to  the  fact  that  the  children  could  see  day  by  day  just  how 
they  were  improving.  They  showed  the  greatest  interest  possible 
in  the  work  and  long  after  the  writer  had  ceased  the  tests  he  was 
waylaid  by  the  children  and  asked  to  renew  them. 

One  of  the  greatest  needs  today  in  our  educational  work  is  to 
provide  adequate  means  of  registering  the  daily  improvement  of 
the  students.  If  one  can  see  himself  improving  he  becomes  very 
much  interested  and  consequently  does  very  much  better  work. 
The  use  of  such  curves  as  employed  here  enables  a  child  not  only 
to  race  against  others  but  to  race  against  himself.  If  he  loafs,  his 
curve  shows  it  very  clearly;  if  he  works  very  hard,  the  curve  registers 
that  fact.  Ordinarily  only  the  superior  children  can  obtain  the  thrill 
of  winning  in  a  scholastic  race  as  school  work  as  usually  admin- 
istered. But  with  the  use  of  learning  curves  a  dull  child  at  the 
bottom  of  the  class  may  experience  the  feeling  of  victory  when  he 
sees  his  curve  rise.  The  presence  or  absence  of  a  feeling  of  confi- 
dence in  oneself  may  account  for  many  of  the  successes  or  failures 
in   life. 


•CLASS-HOUR 

IN    CLASS 

WRITE  UP 

READ 

30 
31 

Discuss,  Lesson  29 
Experiment,    Les.    3 1 

Lesson  3 1 

Lesson    30 

159 


l6o  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACIIKRS 

As  an  example  of  just  how  a  learning  curve  may  be  used  to  great 
advantage  the  following  case  supplied  by  Miss  Martha  Carroll  is 
of  interest. 

"After  a  year  and  a  half  of  unsuccessful  attempts  to  stimulate 
anything  worthy  of  the  name  of  effort  in  an  eleven  year  old  boy 
pupil,  I  decided  to  make  an  attempt  at  a  learning  curve  of  some  sort. 
The  subject  being  music  (and  violin  at  that)  it  semed  almost  an  impossi- 
bility to  figure  out  a  method  by  which  a  record  might  be  kept  and 
exact  progress  noted.  As  an  exact  record  of  progress  made,  the 
curve  (See  Plate  XXVII)  is  a  failure,  but  it  accomplished  jts 
purpose  of  stimulating  an  effort. 

"The  lessons  were  45  minute  periods  once  a  week — 30  minutes 
being  devoted  (approximately)  to  the  lesson  assigned  the  previous 
week  and  15  minutes  to  the  new  lesson.  The  record  was  kept  during 
the  period  of  assigned  lesson  only,  any  errors  in  the  new  lesson  being 
left  uncounted. 

"The  understanding  with  the  pupil  was,  that  for  every  correction 
I  must  make  during  the  30  minute  period  a  mark  would  be  made — 
these  marks  to  be  counted  and  stand  for  the  grade  at  tiie  end  of 
the  lesson.  It  was  also  agreed  that  no  error  noticed,  and  corrected 
by  the  pupil  should  be  counted  against  him.  The  errors  were  to 
include  those  of  position,  intonation  and  rhythm — accuracy  being 
the  sole  end  in  view. 

"At  the  first  lesson  where  the  record  was  kept  I  made  40  correc- 
tions during  the  30  minutes.  For  the  first  time,  the  child  became 
aware  of  the  fact  that  he  did  not  'know  everything  about  it.'  and  that  he 
was  not  'doing  it  right'.  He  became  intensely  interested,  and  from 
then  on  watched  like  a  hawk  every  mark  made  against  him  and  was 
very  soon  seeing  his  own  mistakes  and  correcting  them  before  I 
had  a  chance  to  do  so. 

"The  first  record  was  made  on  Feb.  22,  191 6,  and  on  May  2;^,  1916, 
the  final  record  was  made;  the  score  having  been  reduced  from  40 
errors  to  5  at  the  lowest  record— and  closing  with  a  score  of  10  errors. 
That  the  actual  amount  of  progress  made  is  not  evident,  may  be 
seen  from  the  fact  that  at  the  time  of  the  last  record  fully  3  1-3  times 
as  much  ground  was  covered  in  the  30  minutes  as  at  the  time  of 
the  first  record,  thus  reducing  considerably  the  percentage  of  errors 
at  the  final  record. 

"The  change  was  entirely  one  of  attitude,  for  the  amount  of 
actual  practise  time  spent  between  lessons  was  not  increased. 


LESSON    30 


161 


nUsUkcs. 


4f 


no 


10 


^  te  ^  »4  «>  >a   •^ 


Plate  JtXVII.  Curve  showing  nrograse  in 
eliminetiDg  errors  in  learning  to  pl&jr 
the  violin. 

"The  sudden  rise  in  the  curve  at  the  ninth  record  I  attribute  to 
a  return  of  the  original  attitude  of  self-satisfaction."* 

DIAGNOSIS  OF  INDIVIDUAL  ABILITY  ON   THE  BASIS  OF  LEARNING   CURVES. 

Turning  now  from  a  discussion  as  to  the  general  usefulness  of 
learning  curves  in  teaching,  let  us  consider  the  questions  as  assigned 
in  the  last  lesson. 

Question  i.  Arrange  the  six  children  in  order  (a)  according  to 
their  previous  training,  and  (b)  according  to  their  innate  ability. 
Their  initial  ability  can  be  taken  as  a  fair  representative  of  their 
previous  training.  The  term  "previous  training"  must  needs  refer 
not  to  hours  of  instruction  received,  but  to  the  amount  of  instruction 
that  has  been  absorbed  and  is  now  at  the  disposal  of  the  child. 
According  to  this  interpretation  of  the  temi  a  bright  child  with 
ten   hours   instruction   might  make   a   better   initial    showing   than   a 

*A  very  good  exanriple  of  how  such  methods  have  been  utilized  in  iadustrial  work  is 
recorded  by  R.  B.  Wolf  in  "The  Creative  Workman."  published  by  the  Technical  Asso- 
ciation at  the  Pulp  and  Paper  Industry. 


^62 


IXTRODUCrOKY    rSYCIIOLOGV    FOR   TEACHERS 


dull  child  who  has  had  sixty  hours  instruction.  In  that  case  we 
would  say  the  bright  child  has  received  greater  training.  Not  so 
much  instruction  (in  hours)  has  been  bestowed  upon  him,  but  he 
has  absorbed  more.  With  this  point  in  mind  we  can  see  all  agree  in 
artanging  the  eight  children  as  to  previous  training  in  the  following 
way: — 


TABLE  XIII.    SHOWIKG  ARRANGEMENT  OF  EIGHT  CHILDREN  AC- 
CORDING TO  THEIR  PREVIOUS  TRAINING  IN  ADDITION 
(B-TEST)    AND    MULTIPLIC.'^VTION    (BX-TEST)    AND 
IN  THE  TWO  TESTS  TAKEN  TOGETHER 


Addition 

M 

Liitipl 

cation 

Two  Taken  Together 

L 

S( 

28 

A) 

D 

2. 

D 

16 

A 

3. 

A 

24 

F.i 

C 

4. 

B  I 

20 

B 

13 

B 

n\ 

C 

11 

F 

6 

V 

n 

E 

9.5(6) 

H 

7. 

E 

8. 

5(4) 

H 

6 

E 

8. 

G 

g 

G 

9 

G 

The  curves  of  E  are  unusual  in  that  there  is  such  a  great  gain 
between  the  first  and  second  trials  and  between  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth.  Such  a  condition  is  possible  but  unlikely,  especially  when 
the  rather  slow  progress  between  trials  two  and  thirteen  is  taken 
into  consideration.  The  writer  has  interpreted  the  curves  to  mean 
that  the  little  girl  was  "rattled"  on  the  first  day  and  so  did  not  do 
what  she  could  do.  He  has  consequently  estimated  her  initial  record 
as  the  average  of  her  first  two  records,  i.  e.,  as  8  i-2  and  91-2  instead 
of  4  and  6.  From  all  that  is  known  of  the  child  this  seems  to  be  a 
fairer  interpretation  than  to  use  the  records  just  as  they  stand.  The 
unusual  gain  at  the  last  performance  suggests  cheating.  There  is 
no  way  of  knowing  whether  she  did  or  not.  Before  diagnosing  her 
properly  further  trials  should  be  obtained.  As  this  cannot  be  done 
we  shall  have  to  accept  the  record  as  it  stands. 

In  estimating  innate  ability  one  must  take  into  account  the  slope  of 
the  curve  and  how  near  it  approaches  the  physiological  limit  (See  Plate 
IX).  Of  two  children  having  curves  of  equal  slope,  the  one  whose 
curve  more  nearly  reaches  the  physiological  limit  is  the  brighter  child. 
With  these  points  in  mind  the  writer  would  arrange  the  children  for 
innate  ability  as  shown  in  Table  XIV. 


i.e;sson  30 


163 


TABLE  XIV.     SHOWING  ARRANGEMENT  OF  EIGHT  CHILDREN  AC- 
CORDING   TO    THEIR    INNATE    ABILITY     IN    ADDITION 
(B-TEST)   AND  MULTIPLICATION    (BX-TEST)   AND 
IN  THE  TWO  TESTS  TAKEN  TOGETHER 


Addition 

Multiplication 

Two   Taken    Together 

I. 

D 

D 

D 

2. 

C 

C 

C 

3. 

B 

E 

B 

4- 

A 

A 

A 

5- 

E 

B 

E 

6. 

F 

F 

F 

7- 

G 

H 

H 

8. 

H 

G 

G 

In  estimating  the  average  of  the  two,  the  fact  that  E,  A,  and  B  were 
about  equal  in  their  gains  in  muhiplication  but  not  in  addition  influenced 
the  writer  in  arranging  them  finally  in  the  order  B,  A,  and  E.* 

Before  passing  to  a  consideration  of  questions  2  and  3  in  Lesson  29, 
it  will  be  worth  while  to  check  up  the  estimate  given  above  with  other 
records  of  these  children.  Their  scholastic  record  as  based  on  their 
final  grades  for  that  semester  and  the  opinion  of  their  teacher  and 
principal,  who  knew  them  personally,  ranks  them  as  follows  in  the 
class  of  28  children. 


*L.  L.  Thurstoae  in  Tlie  Learning  Curve  Equation,  Psycholosical  Review  Monograph, 
1919,  discusses  the  theory  of  learning  curves  and  suggests  a  formula  to  cover  them. 
The  writer  has  found  the  following  very  simple  formula  will  enable  one  to  estimate  fairly 
well  the  relative  innate  ability  of  children  on  the  basis  of  their  performance; — abUHy 
_  'o    (Initial   Score  4-  Final  Score)    XGain. 

T^is  equation  takes  into  account  the  steepness  of  the  slope  (gain)  and  in  a  very 
crude  way  the  approximation  of  the  curve  to  the  physiological  limit.  Using  this  for- 
mula we  would  obtain  the  rank  of  these  children  and  their  scores  as  given  in  the  Table 
below.  In  order  to  use  this  formula  in  the  case  of  the  three  children  B,  C,  and  D  it  is 
necessary  to  estimate  how  many  problems  they  would  have  done  in  Test  B  if  they  had 
been  permitted  to  work  at  the  test  for  15  trials.  TTie  estimates  made  are  as  follows:  JB, 
48  problems  at  trial  15;  C,  51  problems;  and  D,  57  problems.  The  estimate  for  D  in 
multiplication    for    the   fifteenth    trial   is    4 1    problems. 


Table  Showing  Arrangement  of  Children  According   to   Innate  .Ability  as   Based   on  the 

Above   Formula. 


ADDITION 

MULTIPLICATION 

AVERAGE 
OF  TWO 

1 

D,   42.5 

X29 

=:I232» 

D.   28.5 

X25 

=  712 

D.   972 

1 

B.   34 

28 

952 

C,   23 

24 

552 

C,   730 

3 

C.   39.5 

23 

908 

E,    19 

19.5 

370 

B,   616 

4 

A.   31 

16 

496 

A,   23.5 

15 

352 

A.   424 

5 

F.    19 

12 

228 

B,   20 

14 

280 

E.   286 

6 

E,    15 

13.5 

202 

F.   21.5 

1  1 

236 

F.   264 

/ 

C,    11.5 

3 

34 

H,    14 

16 

224 

H.    1  12 

8 

H.   20 

0 

0 

G,      6.5 

9 

58 

G.      46 

•This  figure  is  obtained  as  follows: — The  sum  of  the  initial  record  (28)  plus  final 
record  (57,  estimated)  is  85.  That  amount  divided  by  2  and  multiplied  by  29  (the 
gain,  i.  e.,   5  7  —  26)   equals    1232. 


164 

1 XTRODUCTORV 

PSYCHOLOGY 

FOR   TEACH I'KS 

Children 

Rank  in  Class 

Promotion  Record 

A 

1st 

Passed    to    5A 

B 

2d 

a 

C 

3d 

« 

D 

4th 

<< 

E 

25th 

Passed  to  5B 

F 

26th 

Passed  on  condition 

G 

27th 

Dropped  out  of  school 

H 

28th 

Passed  on  condition 

At  the  time  these  Learning  Curves  were  obtained  the  class  was 
tested  with  the  Courtis  Arithmetic  Tests  (See  Lesson  26  for  reference 
to  these  tests).  Their  relative  standing  computed  on  the  basis  of  a 
class  of  100,  instead  of  28  would  be: — 


Courtis     Arithmetic 
Tests 

Addition 
Subtraction 
Multiplication 
Average 


A       B 


D 


H 


24 

26 

39 

II 

86 

64 

89 

83 

7 

29 

57 

32 

92 

88 

89 

26 

50 

51 

47 

4 

75 

92 

94 

75 

27    25     48     16    84    81     91     61 


A  here  stands  24th  in  her  class  in  the  addition  test,  7th  in  subtraction 
and  50th  in  multiplication,  averaging  27th.  The  relative  rank  of  five 
of  the  eight  children  was  obtained  a  year  later ;  the  other  three  children 
having  left  school.  Again  these  results  are  expressed  as  the  ranking 
of  the  child  on  the  basis  of  a  class  of  100. 


Courtis  Arithmetic 
Tests 

A 

B 

C 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

Addition 

— 

— 

46 

4 

95 

— 

— 

95 

Subtraction 

— 

— 

14 

21 

82 

— 

— 

97 

Multiplication 

— 

— 

60 

13 

97 

— 

— 

75 

Division 

— 

— 

13 

23 

98 

— 

— 

83 

Woodv      Arithmetic 

Tests 

Addition 

— 

— 

9 

63 

75 

— 

— 

73 

Subtraction 

— 

— 

10 

53 

8r 

— 

— 

100 

Multiplication 

4 

— 

13 

— 

60 

— 

— 

99 

Division 

4 

— 

3 

29 

59 

— 

— 

92 

LESSON 

3Q 

i^S 

Strong  Arithmetic 
Tests 

Addition   (B) 
Multiplication  (BX) 

19 
15 

— 

7 
15 

19 

3 

92     — 
19     — 

—  7 

—  10 

Average   of    lo   Tests 

II 

— 

19 

23 

76     - 

—     73 

Clearly,  then,  learning  curves  such  as  produced  by  A,  B,  C,  and  D 
are  typical  of  bright  capable  children  while  those  curves  produced  by 
E,  F,  G,  and  H  are  typical  of  children  who  stand  near  the  bottom  of 
their  class.  The  curve  of  G  is  the  poorest  from  the  point  of  initial 
score  or  slope.  This  child  never  belonged  in  the  4th  Grade  and  so 
dropped  out  of  the  school  as  there  was  no  room  for  him  in  the  3rd 
Grade. 

Question  2.  IVhich  pupil,  if  any.  zvould  you  put  in  a  lozvcr  grade? 
Why?  This  question  has  already  been  answered  above.  G  shows 
markedly  inferior  knowledge  of  addition  and  multiplication  and  his 
curves  show  that  he  caimot  learn  rapidly.  In  fact  he  learns  more 
slowly  than  other  children  in  the  same  grade.  There  is  then  no  chance 
of  his  catching  up  with  his  class.  Instead  he  is  going  to  be  left  farther 
and  farther  behind. 

Question  3.  Do  you  note  any  peculiarities  in  these  curves — charac- 
teristics that  you  have  not  previously  discovered?  If  so,  explain  them. 
H's  addition  curve  is  very  striking  and  unusual.  As  she  improved  in 
multiplication  she  lost  in  addition.  In  this  instance  there  was  a  clear 
case  of  interference,  i.  e.,  the  habit  of  "seeing  4X3  and  thinking  12" 
was  interfering  with  the  habit  of  "seeing  4-J-3  and  thinking  7."  She 
continued  in  this  condition  for  some  time  afterwards.  Later  in  the 
year  she  was  put  thru  another  practise  series.  The  addition  again 
showed  an  interference  effect  from  the  multiplication.  Finally  she 
overcame  this  interference  and  eventually  after  three  months  of  indi- 
vidual drill  reached  a  speed  of  40  problems  in  one  minute  in  both 
addition  and  multiplication  and  a  good  speed  in  subtraction  and  column 
addition.  But  she  has  shown  no  ability  to  solve  ordinary  problems  in 
arithmetic.  A  year  later  she  made  the  records  recorded  alxDve,  showing 
that  she  had  retained  what  she  had  learned  in  the  B  and  BX  Tests  but 
was  extremely  poor  in  more  complicated  arithmetic  work.  Our  present 
diagnosis  is  that  she  will  never  be  able  to  solve  problems  requiring 
reasoning. 

TH1-:    REL.\TI0NSHIP   OV    THE    PROBLEM    OE    IXOIVIDl'AL    DIFFEREN'CES    TO 

EDUCATION. 

The  problem  of  individual  differences  is  a  very  big  problem  in  the 
educational  world  and  must  be  taken  into  consideration  in  teaching  and 


l66  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

administrative  work.  Children  differ  very  materially.  Such  differ- 
ences are  caused  jointly  by  heredity  and  by  training.  The  differences 
in  training  can  to  a  large  degree  be  taken  care  of  thru  putting  those 
with  extra  training  ahead  of  those  with  less  training.  But  the  differ- 
ences due  to  heredity  cannot  be  disposed  of  so  easily.  Superiority  in 
heredity  means  that  the  child  is  going  to  advance  rapidly,  inferiority 
in  heredity  means  that  the  child  is  going  to  advance  slowly.  This  is 
shown  diagrammatically  in  Plate  IX.  It  means  that  any  class  is 
always  going  to  fly  apart.  The  more  training  a  group  has  the  more 
the  children  are  going  to  become  unlike.  Training,  does  not  make 
people  alike,  it  makes  them  unlike.  The  bright  child  gets  all  of  his 
lesson,  the  dull  child  but  half.  The  next  day  the  bright  child  gets  all 
of  the  new  lesson,  the  dull  child  cannot  do  as  well  as  he  did  before, 
because  part  of  the  new  lesson  depends  on  that  part  of  the  first  lesson 
he  didn't  get.  He  consequently  gets  less  than  half  of  the  second  lesson. 
So  as  time  continues  the  gap  between  the  two  widens. 

As  things  are  conducted  today,  average  children  are  fairly  well  taken 
care  of.  The  pace  set  is  too  slow  for  the  bright  children  and  too  fast 
for  the  dull  children.  The  bright  children  are  not  encouraged  to  work 
hard.  They  can  easily  get  their  lessons  in  a  few  minutes  *'any  old 
time."  The  dull  are  discouraged  for  they  can't  possibly  keep  pace. 
What  is  needed  today  is  a  system  so  elastic  that  all  can  keep  working 
at  their  own  pace.  Some  advocate  here  that  the  pace  be  set  for  the 
dull  child  and  the  better  children  be  persuaded  to  do  more  work  on 
the  side  and  in  a  better  manner.  The  dull  child  will  then  get  the 
sheer  essentials,  the  others  a  richer  and  richer  course  depending  on 
their  ability.  But  how  is  such  a  course  to  be  conducted?  Others 
advocate  various  schemes  for  rapid  or  slow  promotion  depending  on 
the  different  children. 

The  Courtis  Standard  Practise  Tests.  In  this  connection  the  Courtis 
Standard  Practise  Tests  should  be  borne  in  mind.  These  tests  are 
different  from  the  Courtis  Arithmetic  Tests  already  mentioned  several 
times. 

The  first  two  tests  and  the  record  sheet  covering  these  tests  are 
shown  in  Plates  XXVIII  and  XXIX.  On  the  first  day  every  child  is 
given  a  copy  of  lesson  i.  Suppose  it  is  a  4th  Grade  class.  The  children 
are  then  allowed  6  minutes  to  do  the  lesson.*  At  the  end  of  the  six 
minutes  the  papers  are  corrected  and  each  child  records  his 
record  in  his  Record  Book.  On  the  second  day,  if  any  child  finished 
the  first  lesson  correctly  within  the  six  minutes  he  is  not  required  to 

•The  other  grades  nre  given  a  shorter  time.  The  5th  grade  is  allowed  4%  min.;  the 
6th  grade  4  min.,  the  7th   grade.   3  V^   min.,  and  the  6th   grade,  3   min. 


LESSON   30  167 

do  Lesson  i  over  again  but  is  supplied  with  Lesson  2  instead.  The 
remainder  of  the  class  repeat  Lesson  i.  So  it  goes  thruout  the  year. 
It  is  conceivable  that  after  forty-eight  days  a  very  bright  child  would 
have  entirely  finished  all  48  lessons  whereas  a  very  dull  child  would 
still  be  on  the  first  lesson.  Professor  Courtis,  however,  advocates  that 
after  several  failures,  individual  instruction  be  given  the  backward 
child  and  if  that  is  not  sufficient  to  bring  him  up,  that  he  be  allowed 
to  go  to  the  next  lesson.  In  Plate  XXIX  are  shown  two  individual 
records  on  the  one  sheet.  (Ordinarily  only  one  record  would  appear 
on  a  page.)     N  has  required  15  days  in  which  to  finish  Lesson  i.    The 

LESSON  No.  l-AOOmON  LESSON  No.  2-SUBTKACnON 


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Plate  XXXVIII.     Courtis  Standard  Practice  Tests.* 

solid  line  traces  the  number  of  problems  he  did  each  day  and  the 
broken  line  the  number  he  got  correct.  M,  on  the  other  hand,  finished 
Lesson  i  in  five  days  and  Lesson  2  in  two  more  days.  (As  there  are 
but  61  problems  in  Lesson  2,  61  is  of  course  the  standard  set  in  that 
lesson.)  His  record  for  Lesson  3  would  be  scored  on  another  page 
and  so  does  not  appear  here.  He  finished  up  four  lessons  while  M 
was  doing  one. 

•The  latest  edition  of  these  practice  tests  shows  Lesson  No.  1  as  above.  But  Lesson 
No.  2  now  comprises  70  problems  instead  of  6  I .  The  Graph  Sheet  in  Plate  XXIX  is  aUo 
from  an  earlier  edition  of  the  "Student's  Record  and  Practice."  (By  permission  of 
World   Book  Company.) 


i68 


INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACIIKKS 


GRAPH   SHEET 


Lesson  No.  1 
LESSON  NO. 


72  examples 


Lesson  No.  2 


61  examples 


rNSTROCnONS:  After  each  trial,  in  the  column  corresponding  to  the  nuraber  of  the 
trial,  draw  a  short  horizontal  line  through  your  score  in  examples  tried.  Using  a  ruler, 
draw  a  heavy  line  from  this  point  to  the  score  marked  in  the  previous  column.  In 
like  manner  draw  a  curve  for  Rights,  using  a  hea\-y  broken  line.  More  than  one  graph 
can  be  drawn  on  this  page;  see  Model,  page  4.  When  you  have  completed  the  lesson 
successfully,  hand  in  this  record  book  with  your  paper. 

Plate  XXIX.    Graph  sheet.   Showing  record  of  two 
children,  M  and  H.  M  finishes  lesson  No.  1  in 
5  days  and  lesson  No.   8  in  two  days  more.   N  re- 
quires 15  days  to  oortplete  Lesson  Ho  1  in  the 
allotted  time. 


The  point  to  be  noted  about  this  scheme  is  that  it  provides  a  method 
by  which  the  entire  class  can  be  put  at  arithmetical  work  and  at  the 
same  time  the  lessons  may  be  varied  in  accordance  with  individual 
differences.  Moreover  each  child  plots  his  own  learning  curves  and 
so  knows  just  how  he  is  advancing!  day  by  4ay-  He  has  the 
stimulation  of  racing  against  others  and  also  again.st  himself. 


LESSON  31  169 

INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES  PROVIDED  FOR  IN  THIS  COURSE  IN  PSYCHOLOGY. 

An  entirely  different  scheme  for  providing  for  individual  differences 
is  utilized  in  this  course.  Each  lesson  contains  as  many  "leads"  as 
even  the  best  student  will  have  time  to  follow.  Every  minute  devoted 
to  study  adds  something  additional  to  his  training  or  store  of  infor- 
mation. At  the  same  time  each  lesson  is  easy  enough  so  that  the 
poorest  student,  deserving  only  to  pass  the  course,  can  obtain  sufficient 
grounding  in  the  fundamentals  of  the  course  to  pass  and  go  on.  The 
better  the  student,  the  more  thorough  a  grasp  of  the  material  will  be 
obtained,  but  all  will  get  a  worth  while  amount.  If  two  or  three  times 
as  much  time  was  devoted  to  the  course,  the  poorer  students  would  get 
more  from  the  course,  but  the  better  students  would  not  be  kept  busy 
and  so  would  not  get  the  maximum  training  they  have  a  right  to 
receive  in  return  for  their  tuition  and  time. 

LESSON  31— HOW  MAY  SUCH  PROPOSITIONS  AS  "RELA- 
TIONSHIP OF  INITIAL  TO  FINAL  PROFICIENCY" 
BE  ACCURATELY  INVESTIGATED? 

In  Lesson  21  a  preliminary  study  was  made  as  to  whether  those  who 
were  best  at  the  start  were  best  at  the  end  in  such  training  as  doing 
the  mirror-drawing  experiment.  After  we  had  arranged  the  ten  indi- 
viduals A  to  J  (See  Table  IV)  with  respect  to  their  initial  and  final 
abilities  we  found  it  difficult  to  express  just  what  the  relationship 
between  the  two  orders  was.  In  this  lesson  we  shall  attempt  a  more 
satisfactory  study  of  this  point. 

So  far  we  have  considered  the  average  and  the  average  deviation  as 
measurements  which  help  us  in  our  study  of  individual  differences. 
Still  another  measurement  is  needed : — the  coefficient  of  correlation. 
This  measurement  is  needed  when  wc  attempt  to  compare  the  order 
of  superiority  of  a  group  of  individuals  at  one  time  with  their  order 
obtained  at  another  time.  For  example,  in  the  results  obtained  from 
Evcsson  21,  just  what  is  the  relationship  between  the  two  orders?  On 
the  whole,  we  can  see  that  those  who  are  best  at  the  start  are  best  at 
the  end ;  still  there  are  exceptions.  And  if,  instead  of  B  holding  ist  and 
4th  positions,  respectively,  he  held  ist  and  loth  positions  (i.  e.,  had 
a  final  score  of  90),  we  would  find  it  extremely  difficult  to  state  just 
how  this  change  had  really  affected  the  entire  relationship  between 
the  two  sets  of  figures.     Here  are  these  two  cases : — 


I/O  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 


CASE  T. 

( 

:ase 

II. 

(.Based  on  Actual  Data) 

(B's 

Data 

Altered) 

Initial    Ability                    Final 

Ability 

Initial 

Ability 

Final 

Ability 

B            (76)                     G 

(35) 

B 

(76) 

G 

(35) 

I          (129)                      J 

(36) 

I 

(129) 

J 

(36) 

J          (131)                       I 

(40) 

J 

(131) 

I 

(40) 

C          (210)                      B 

(50) 

C 

(210) 

E 

(52) 

E         (216)                    E 

(52) 

E 

(216) 

C 

(58) 

A          (232)                    C 

(58) 

A 

(232) 

H 

(60) 

G          (283)                    H 

(60) 

G 

(283) 

A 

(61) 

F          (286)                    A 

(61) 

F 

(286) 

F 

(70) 

D          (363)                    F 

(70) 

D 

(363) 

D 

(85) 

H          (701)                    D 

(85) 

H 

(701) 

B 

(90) 

From  a  study  of  the  two  sets  of  relationships  it  is  clear  that  there 
is  a  closer  relationship  in  the  first  case  than  in  the  second.  But  it  is 
impossible  to  estimate  this  difference  by  looking  at  all  the  figures. 
We  need  some  clear  and  definite  method  of  expressing  such  relation- 
ships. This  is  exactly  what  the  coefficient  of  correlation  gives  us. 
Below  is  an  example  fully  worked  out.  Study  it  carefully  so  as  to  be 
able  to  obtain  the  coefficient  of  correlation  in  similar  examples  yourself. 

HOW  TO  OBTAIN  A  COEEFICIENT  OF  CORRELATION. 

The  several  steps  involved  in  obtaining  a  coefficient  of  correlation 
are  as  follows  : — 

1.  Arrange  your  individuals  in  order  of  merit  in  the  two  cases  to 
be  studied.  (If  two  or  more  individuals  are  tied,  then  the  following 
scheme  is  to  be  followed.  Suppose  10  children  received  these  grades 
in  arithmetic— A,  100 ;  B,  90 ;  C,  90 ;  D,  85  ;  E,  80 ;  F,  80 ;  G,  80 ;  H,  80 ; 
I,  75;  and  J,  70.  Then  rank  A  as  i ;  B  and  C  as  2'/2  (i.  e.,  the 
average  of  2  and  3)  ;  D  as  4;  E.  F,  G,  and  H  as  6i^  (i.  e.,  the 
average  of  5,  6,  7  and  8)  ;  I  as  9;  and  J  as  10). 

2.  Obtain  the  differences  in  the  rank  of  each  individual  in  the  two 
ratings  (d). 

3.  Square  these  differences  (d^) 

4.  Obtain  the  sum  of  these  squared  diflFerences  (  Id^) 

5.  Multiply  this  sum  by  6  (6Zd2) 

6.  Count  up  the  number  of  individuals  bein;:^  studied  (n),  square 
this  number  (n^),  subtract  i  from  that  (n^ — i),  and  then  multiply  the 
difference     by  the  number  (n(n2— i)  ). 

7.  Divide  the  amount  obtained  in  the  5th  step  by  the  amount  obtained 
in  the  6th  step, 

8.  Subtract  this  decimal  from  i.oo,  observing  algebraic  signs.  This 
final  decimal  is  the  coefficient  of  correlation. 

Here  is  the  solution  of  the  coefficient  of  correlation  of  the  first  set 
of  figures. 


LESSON  31 


171 


Initial  Ability 

Final  Ability 

Individual 
Considered 

B 

Differences 
in  Rank 

Differences 

Rank 

Individual 

Rank 

Individual 
G 

Squared 

1 

B 

1 

1—4  =     —3 

9 

2 

I 

2 

J 

I 

2—3   =     —I 

1 

3 

J 

3 

I 

J 

3—2  =          I 

1 

4 

C 

4 

B 

C 

4-6  =     — ' 

4 

5 

E 

5 

E 

E 

5—5  =        0 

U 

6 

A 

6 

C 

A 

6—8  =    —2 

4 

7 

G 

7 

H 

Ci 

7—1  =        6 

36 

8 
9 

F 
D 

8 
9 

A 
F 

F 
D 

8—9  =    —I 

I 

1 

10 

H 

10 

D 

H 

9 — 10—    — I 
10—7  =        3 
Total 

9 
66 

Formula  for  coefficient  of  correlation  (the  letter  "r"  is  the  common 
abbreviation  for  this  term)  : — 


6    Z  d2 


r=i- 


n   (n2— i) 
6X66 

10  (100 — i) 
396 


990 


d2=the  differences  squared,  illustrated  by 
the  ten  squared  deviations  in  the  last 
column. 

2tl^=-the  sum  of  all  the  squared  deviations, 
as  66  above. 

n==the  number  of  individuals  being  con- 
sidered, as  10  in  this  case,  the  10  indi- 
dividuals,  A — J. 


r=i — 0.40 
r=  -|-0-6o 

The  coefficient  of  correlation   (r)   between  initial  ability  and  filial 
ability  in  the  case  of  these  10  individuals  is  +0.60. 

Here  is  the  solution  of  the  coefficient  of  correlation  of  the  second 
set  of  figures  above. 


Initial 

Final 

Diflference 

Difft 

'fences 

Rank 

Ability 

Ability 

in  Rank 

Squared 

I 

B 

G 

—9 

81 

2 

I 

J 

— I 

3 

J 

I 

4 

C 

E 

— I 

5 

E 

C 

6 

A 

H 

— I 

7 

G 

A 

6 

.36 

8 

F 

F 

0 

0 

9 

D 

D 

0 

0 

i» 

H 

B 

4 

10 
138 

172  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY    FOR  TEACHERS 

6   S    d2  6X13^"^  «28 


=  1 — o.84=+o.i6 


n  (n^— i)  10(100—1)  990 

WHAT  A  COEFFICIENT  OF  CORRELATION    MEANS. 

"Correlation  expresses  to  what  extent  two  traits  vary  coordinately, 
independently,  or  antagonistically."*  For  example,  scholarship  varies 
coordinately  with  intelligence,  independently  of  an  alphabetic  list  of 
the  class  and  antagonistically  to  the  presence  of  ill  health.  In  other 
words,  ( I )  the  best  scholar  is  most  likely  to  be  the  brightest  child  in 
the  class,  the  poorest  scholar  to  be  the  dullest  child  in  the  class ;  ( 2) 
the  best  scholar  is  no  more  likely  to  be  the  student  whose  name  is 
Aaron  than  Zullen,  and  the  same  is  true  respecting  the  poorest  scholar ; 
(3)  the  best  scholar  is  most  likely  to  be  the  child  with  the  least  sickness, 
while  the  poorest  scholar  is  most  likely  to  be  the  child  with  the  most 
sickness. 

A  coefficient  of  correlation  of  +1.00  means  that  the  two  traits  vary 
coordinately  and  perfectly  so;  a  correlation  of  +0.75  means  that  the 
traits  vary  coordinately  but  not  perfectly  so ;  a  correlation  of  o  means 
that  the  two  traits  vary  independently;  and  a  correlation  of  — i-.oo 
means  that  the  two  traits  vary  antagonistically.  Coefficients  of  corre- 
lation range,  then,  from  +1.00  thru  o  to  — i.oo;  any  single  number 
having  a  certain  significance  on  a  scale  from  coordinate  variability, 
thru  independent  variability  to  antagonistic  variability. 

The  correlation  of  +0.60  which  was  obtained  between  initial  per- 
formance and  final  performance  in  the  mirror-drawing  experiment 
means  that  on  the  whole  the  best  at  the  start  was  best  at  the  end, 
the  poorest  at  the  start  was  poorest  at  the  end,  the  fifth  at  the  start 
was  fifth  at  the  end,  etc.  If  it  had  been  exactly  this  relationship  we 
would  have  had  a  correlation  of  +1.00.  As  we  had  less  than  +1.00, 
i.  e.,  +0.60,  it  means  that  a  few  of  the  individuals  were  out  of  place 
from  this  perfect  arrangement.  This  we  find  in  the  cases  of  G,  B,  and 
H ;  G  advancing  from  seventh  to  first  place.  15  droppinsj^  back  from 
first  to  fourth  place,  and  H  advancing  from  tenth  to  seventh.  Besides 
these  decided  changes  in  position,  all  the  other  individuals  except  E 
change  place  to  a  slight  extent.  Now  in  the  case  of  our  second  case 
with  its  correlation  of  +0.16  we  have  a  statement  which  indicates  that 
there  is  practically  no  relationship  between  the  two  sets  of  figures. 
We  can  expect  that  only  to  a  very  slight  extent  will  it  be  true  that  the 
best  at  the  start  will  be  the  best  at  the  end  and  the  poorest  at  the  start 
will  be  poorest  at  the  end.  Rather  will  we  expect  to  find  decided  differ- 

•  Joseph  Jastrow,  Character  and   Temperament,    1915,  p.   509. 


«ords 

of  Te 

n   Indi\ 

nduals 

in    Mirror-Di 

rawing   ] 

Experiment. 

A) 

B 

c 

D 

E 

F 

G 

H 

I 

J 

232 

76 

210 

363 

216 

286 

283 

701 

129 

131 

133 

70 

108 

132 

no 

97 

76 

98 

84 

75 

88 

54 

71 

121' 

75 

89 

56 

72 

55 

49 

89 

53 

60 

86 

75 

81 

43 

55 

59 

3» 

61 

50 

58 

85 

52 

70 

35 

60 

40 

36 

LESSON  31  173 

ences  between  the  two  groups  of  figures  such  as  B's  change  from  first 
to  last  place,  G's  change  from  seventh  to  first  place,  and  H's  change 
from  tenth  to  sixth  place. 

ASSIGNMENT   FOR   LABORATORY    HOUR. 

Obtain  the  coefficient  of  correlation  for  the  problems  given  below. 
Do  as  many  of  these  problems  as  you  can  during  the  laboratory  hour. 
Check  up  your  answer  for  each  example,  thru  consultation  with  the 
instructor,  before  going  on  to  the  next  problem. 

Trials 
I 

5 
10 

15 
20 

1.  Obtain  the  correlation  between  the  fifth  performance  and  the 
final  performance  in  the  mirror-drawing  experiment. 

2.  Obtain  the  correlation  between  the  tenth  performance  and  the 
final  performance. 

3.  Obtain  the  correlation  between  the  fifteenth  performance  and  the 
final  performance. 

4.  Suppose  the  following  grades  had  been  given  to  ten  students  in 
High  School,  what  would  be  the  correlation  between  their  grades  in 
(a)  algebra  and  English,  (b)  algebra  and  Latin,  and  (c)  algebra  and 
biology  ? 

English 
A 

A— 
B+ 
B 

B— 
C+ 

c 

c— 

D 

F 

HOW  COEFFICIENTS  OF  CORRELATION  ARE  UTILIZED  IN*   PSYCHOLOGY  AND 

EDUCATION. 

What  you  have  been  working  on  during  the  last  laboratory  hour 
seems  far  away  from  psychology.  In  a  sense  it  is  mathematics  and 
not  psychology.  In  another  sense  it  is  just  as  much  psychology  as  any 
other  topic  which  has  been  discussed  in  the  course.  Let  us  consider 
some  examples  where  this  mathematics  is  essential  for  the  development 
of  psychological  or  educational  principles. 

The  writer  in  his  "Relative  Merit  of  Advertisements"*  wished  to 
determine  whether  the  results  he  had  obtained  in  rating  the  efficiency 

•Edward  K.  Strong.   Jr.     Relative  Merit  of  Advertisementa,    1911,  p.    11-15. 


A 

98 

B 

96 

C 

93 

D 

89 

E 

8S 

F 

84 

G 

82 

H 

80 

I 

75 

J 

70 

Latin 

Biology 

F 

83 

D— 

94 

D 

86 

C- 

72 

C 

91 

C-f 

88 

B— 

69 

6 

95 

A— 

77 

A 

90 

174  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR   TEACHERS 

of  advertisements  by  a  laboratory  method  would  check  up  with 
business  conditions.  He  therefore  correlated  the  results  he  had 
obtained  by  two  different  laboratory  methods  with  each  other  and  with 
the  ratings  of  these  advertisements  as  furnished  him  (a)  by  the  owners 
of  the  business  and  (b)  by  the  advertising  agency  representing  the 
business  concern.  He  obtained  these  correlations: — 
Correlation  between  the  results  of  the  two  laboratory  methods  +0.95 
Correlation  between  the  results  of  first  laboratory  method  and 

the  company  rating  +0.89 

Correlation  between  the  results  of  first  laboratory  method  and 

the  agency  rating  +0.87 

Correlation  between  the  results  of  second  laboratory  method 

and  the  company  rating  +0.84 

Correlation  between  the  results  of  second  laboratory  method 

and  the  agency  rating  +0.92 

Correlation  between  the  company  rating  and  the  agency  rating  +0.87 
Apparently  then  the  laboratory  methods  of  estimating  the  efficiency 
of  these  advertisements  were  as  accurate  as  the  methods  of  the  company 
or  of  its  advertising  experts.  That  meant  that  the  writer  who  knew 
nothing  about  advertising  in  those  days,  nor  about  this  particular 
business,  could  determine  the  efficiency  of  its  advertisements  as  accu- 
rately as  could  the  men  who  made  these  things  their  specialty. 

Take  another  example.  Professor  Yerkes  of  Harvard  University 
has  recently  devised  a  series  of  tests  (The  Yerkes-Bridges  Point  Scale 
Test)  whereby  the  general  intelligence  of  children  can  be  estimated 
surprisingly  accurately.  Professor  Garrison*  tried  the  tests  on  college 
students  and  obtained  a  correlation  of  only  +0.19  between  the  ratings 
given  the  students  by  the  Yerkes  test  and  their  college  grades :  also  a 
correlation  of  +0.15  between  the  test  ratings  and  the  combined  opinions 
of  eight  professors  as  to  the  students'  general  ability.  Of  course  neither 
college  grades  nor  the  combined  opinions  of  professors  accurately 
portray  the  real  ability  of  college  students.  We  all  know  that.  Still 
they  are  accurate  enough  so  that  if  a  test  does  not  correlate  with  them 
more  than  +0.19  we  judge  that  the  test  is  practically  worthless.  This 
low  correlation  means,  then,  that  Yerkes'  intelligence  test  is  of  little 
value  in  classifying  adults  in  terms  of  their  general  intelligence.  It 
is,  on  the  other  hand,  as  already  stated,  of  great  value  in  classifying 
children. 

When  Dr.  Kelleyt  attacked  the  problem  of  how  far  he  could  go  in 
prophesying  what  a  student  would  do  in  high  school  on  the  basis  of 

*S.   C.    Garrison,   The   Yerkcs's   Point   Scale    for  Measuring   Mental   Ability,   as   Applied 
to  Normal   Adults,  School  and  Society,   June   23,    1917. 
tTruman  L.  Kelley,  Vocational  Guidance,    1914. 


LESSON  31  175 

his  records  in  grammar  school,  he  obtained  the  correlations  between  the 
student's  grades  in  the  4th  to  7th  grades  (a  7-year  grammar  school  was 
studied)  and  in  the  first  year  of  high  school.  The  final  correlation  was 
found  to  be  +0.79  between  grammar  school  and  high  school  work. 
Kelley  urges  on  the  basis  of  his  study  that  the  grades  of  a  child  should 
be  kept  on  a  card  for  his  entire  sciiool  career,  since  they  form  the 
very  best  basis  now  obtainable  from  which  we  can  estimate  what  a 
child  will  do  in  higher  schooling.  And  it  is  quite  likely  when  we  come 
to  know  more  about  vocational  guidance  that  we  shall  find  these  records 
of  great  value  in  scientifically  guiding  boys  and  girls  into  the  careers 
for  which  they  are  most  adapted. 

These  examples  are  only  three  out  of  hundreds  that  might  be  given 
all  going  to  show  how  necessary  it  is  to  obtain  a  coefficient  of  correlation 
in  order  to  solve  many  psychological  and  educational  problems.  At  the 
present  point  in  this  course  all  that  is  desired  is  that  you  obtain  an  idea 
of  how  the  correlation  is  obtained  and  something  as  to  what  it  means. 
As  you  progress  in  your  training  along  psychological  and  educational 
lines  you  will  run  across  this  topic  again  and  again  and  after  a  time 
you  will  commence  to  feel  at  home  with  the  subject.  What  a  correlation 
means  is  a  difficult  conception  to  acquire  and  cannot  be  gotten  in  a  few 
minutes  or  even  in  a  few  hours. 

ASSIGNMENT   TO   BE    HANDED   IN    AT   THE    NEXT    CLASS-HOUR. 

1.  Finish  all  the  problems  given  out  during  the  laboratory  period. 

2.  Answer  the  following  questions  : — 

a.  What  does  a  correlation  of  +1.00  mean? 

b.  What  does  a  correlation  of  — i.oo  mean? 

c.  What  does  a  correlation  of      o       mean? 

d.  Could  you  have  a  correlation  larger  than  +1.00  or  smaller 

than  — 1.00? 

3.  Study  these  two  statements  until  you  feel  that  you  comprehend 
somewhat  of  their  meaning: — (i)  Two  individuals  selected  at  random 
will  have  a  correlation  of  o  with  respect  to  any  trait,  two  brothers  will 
have  a  correlation  of  about  +0.40  with  respect  to  any  trait,  and  two 
twins  will  have  a  correlation  of  about  +0.80  with  respect  to  any  trait. 
(2)  Similarly  father  and  son  will  correlate  about  +0.30  while  gfrand- 
father  and  grandchild  will  correlate  about  +0.16. 

Hand  in  your  report  drawn  up  in  the  usual  way  at  the  next  class-hour. 


LESSON  32— REVIEW* 


THE  BROADKR  MEANING  OF  THE  TOPICS  CONSIDERED  IN  THIS  COURSE. 

Three  basic  conceptions  have  so  far  been  presented :  ( i )  all  behavior 
is  composed  of  a  Situation,  Bond  and  Response;  (2)  the  process  of 
learning  is  typified  by  a  learning  curve;  and  (3)  individual  differences 
are  typified  by  a  normal  surface  of  distribution. 

This  course  has  been  so  constructed  as  to  help  the  reader  form  the 
following  bonds : — 

What  is  the 
situation  ? 

>Situation,  Bond,  Response >Does  a  bond 

exist? 

What  r  e- 
sponse  do  I 
want  ? 


Any  Situation  in 
life  which  cannot 
be  immediately  re- 
acted to. 


( ditto) 


■^Learning  Curve 


Rapid,  then 
slower  learn- 
ing. 

•Fluctuations. 
Plateaus,  etc. 


Normal    sur- 
face. 

(ditto) ^Individual     Differences     ^Majority  are 

avera_2:e  men. 
Effect    of 
Heredity,  etc. 

In  a  more  advanced  course  the  complete  explanation  of  the  value  of 
such  organization  of  material  may  be  given.  Here  it  is  sufficient  to 
point  out  by  way  of  illustrations  that  if,  when  one  is  confronted  by  a 
puzzling  problem  (situation  to  which  he  has  no  immediate  reaction), 
he  will  think — "Situation,  Bond,  Response,"  "Learning  Curve,"  "Indi- 
vidual Differences,"  he  will  very  frequently  find  a  satisfactory  solution 
to  his  difficulty.  For  in  so  doing  he  calls  to  mind  many  details  of  this 
course  which  may  throw  light  on  his  problem. 


•CLASS-HOUR 

IN    CLASS 

WRITE  UP 

READ 

32 
33 
34 
35 

Discuss,     Lesson     3 1 

Review,    Les.     1-32 

Examination 

Experiment,     Les    35 

Lesson  35 

Lesson    32 

Review,    Les.     1-32 

Lesson    34 

177 


178  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

Suppose  you  are  the  advertising  manager  of  a  Toasted  Corn  Flakes 
Co.  The  problem  before  you  is  to  prepare  an  advertisement  which 
will  sell  corn  flakes.  "Situation,  Bond,  Response"  flashes  into  your 
mind.  "What's  that  got  to  do  with  selling  corn  flakes?"  you  ask 
yourself.  Then  comes  to  mind  the  query,  "What  response  do  I  want?" 
Naturally  people  buying  corn  flakes.  "What  situation  will  bring  about 
such  a  response?"  First  of  all,  "a  situation  connected  up  already  with 
eatingf."  "What  is  such  a  situation?"  "It  will  soon  be  vacation  time. 
I  want  a  vacation  situation."  "What  will  it  be?"  After  some  pondering 
you  think  of  the  situation,  "wife  going  to  the  country,  husband  eats 
breakfast  at  home,"  etc.  And  you  prepare  an  advertisement  with  a 
husband  eating  breakfast  alone  at  home  with  a  package  of  corn  flakes 
on  the  table  and  a  heading,  "Wife's  gone  to  the  country,  but  this  is  a 
good  breakfast." 

Suppose  again  the  situation  is  to  pass  on  an  advertisement  prepared 
by  an  artist  depicting  Venus  de  Milo  and  copy  about  the  wonderful 
statue  and  equally  wonderful  breakfast  food.  Again,  "Situation,  Bond, 
Response"  comes  to  mind.  You  ask  yourself,  "will  this  situation  (the 
artist's  advertisement)  lead  naturally  to  the  response  I  want,  i.  e.,  to 
make  people  buy  corn  flakes?"  You  can't  see  how  it  will  so  you  turn 
it  down.  For  only  most  far  fetched  reasoning  can  connect  "Venus  de 
Milo"  with  "Corn  Flakes." 

Suppose  you  are  the  employer  of  a  large  number  of  clerks.  You 
have  tried  a  young  woman  of  superior  attainments  with  the  idea  of 
eventually  placing  her  in  charge  of  one  section  of  your  ofiice.  But  she 
isn't  making  good  according  to  your  expectations.  The  puzzling  situ- 
ation confronting  you  this  morning  is  whether  to  continue  figuring  on 
advancing  her  when  she  has  learned  a  little  more  or  to  hire  a  new 
woman  right  away  for  the  position.  You  need  some  one  to  put  in 
charge,  right  now.  The  learning  curve  flashes  into  mind.  "Yes,  she 
learned  rapidly  at  first — an  indication  of  superior  attainments  and  little 
previous  knowledge  of  the  work.  But  she  hasn't  progressed  for  some 
time — must  be  on  a  plateau.  What's  the  trouble?  Possibly  I  can  straight- 
en it  out  and  she'll  make  good."  You  commence  to  think  of  the  possible 
causes — is  it  wrong  attitude  ?  is  she  trying  to  advance  ?  doesn't  she  like 
the  work?  is  there  something  in  the  work  she  has  failed  to  understand 
which  is  preventing  her  advancement?  (The  thought  "learning  curve" 
unlocks  the  knowledge  you  have  about  learning  and  makes  your  study 
of  why  she  is  not  progressing  much  more  interesting,  for  you  realize 
that  a  change  by  you  in  the  situation  confronting  her  may  lead  to  her 
proper  response.) 


LivSSON  33  179 

Suppose  again,  you  are  the  employer  of  girls  whose  job  is  to  do  filing. 
You  are  annoyed  by  the  very  high  turn-over*  in  your  department — 
much  higher  than  other  departments.  As  you  ponder  over  the  situation, 
"individual  differences"  comes  to  mind.  "Yes,  the  individuals  are 
different,  they  stay  with  me  a  shorter  time  than  my  other  employees. 
The  pay  is  less,  but  it  is  above  the  average  for  that  type  of  work. 
What's  the  trouble?"  You  investigate  and  find  nearly  all  quit  to  get 
higher  pay,  doing  other  kinds  of  work.  Then  "normal  surface  of 
distribution"  flashes  to  mind.  "Maybe,"  you  think,  "I  can  hire  less 
intelligent  women,  women  who  can  do  filing  but  can't  do  more  involved 
things."  You  stop  hiring  bright  women  for  this  department ;  instead 
you  hire  only  dull  ones,  but  dull  ones  who  can  alphabetize  accurately 
and  rapidly. 

It  is  surprising  the  number  of  baffling  problems  about  people  which 
can  be  solved  by  the  use  of  these  three  "formulae."  And  to  the  extent 
that  the  habit  is  formed  by  you,  the  reader,  of  thinking  from  a  situation 
you  can't  solve  to 

( 1 )  Situation,  Bond,  Response. 

(2)  Learning  Curve. 

(3)  Individual  Differences. 

to  just  that  extent  you  will  be  enabled  to  utilize  the  contents  of  this 
course. 

PREPARATION  FOR  THE  REVIEW. 

The  next  class-hour  (the  33d)  will  be  devoted  to  a  general  review 
of  the  subject  of  individual  differences.  Spend  the  two  hours  in 
reviewing  the  subject.  The  34th  class-hour  will  be  devoted  to  a  written 
examination. 

As  an  aid  in  reviewing  the  subject  matter  and  in  organizing  it  so  it 
will  be  most  useful  to  you  in  after  life  write  out  opposite  the  three 
headings  (i)  Situation — Bond — Response,  (2)  Learning  Curve,  and 
(3)  Individual  Differences  the  significant  facts  you  have  so  far  learned. 

LESSON   33— WRITTEN   EXAMINATION 

The  next  class-hour  will  be  devoted  to  a  written  examniation. 

It  is  not  expected  that  you  memorize  the  formula  for  obtaining  the 
coefficient  of  correlation.  But  you  should  understand  how  to  use  it 
and  what  it  means. 

•■"Labor  turn-over"  refers  to  the  number  of  employees  hired  during  a  year  to  do  the 
work  of  the  average  empolyee. 


l8o  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY    FOR  TEACHERS 

LESSON  34— GENERAL  INTRODUCTION  TO  SOME  PHYSIO- 
LOGICAL ASPECTS  OF  PSYCHOLOGY 

In  the  foregoing  lessons  we  have  considered  some  characteristics  of 
the  learning  process  and  of  individual  dififerences.  Before  going 
further  it  will  be  necessary  to  stop  and  consider  some  physiological 
aspects  of  learning.  This  must  be  done  in  order  to  give  us  a  clearer 
and  more  definite  idea  of  some  of  our  terms. 

GENERAL  PHYSIOLOGICAL  ASPECTS  OF  THE  LEARNING  PROCESS. 

So  far  in  this  course  we  have  been  content  to  describe  human  behavior 
as  a  response  to  a  situation,  including  in  this  conception  the  thought  of 
a  bond  which  connects  the  situation  with  the  response.  We  have  now 
reached  a  point  where  it  is  necessary  to  scrutinize  these  three  terms 
and  see  to  just  what  they  do  actually  refer.  It  is  evident,  when  we 
come  to  think  about  it,  that  in  the  case  where  some  one  says  "4  and  6" 
and  I  answer  "10"  that  there  is  no  material  bond  of  any  sort  which 
connects  the  "4  and  6"  and  the  "10."  A  "situation"  and  a  "response" 
are  not  then  connected  together  with  a  "bond"  of  iron,  or  wood,  or  of 
flesh.  How  then  are  they  connected  together?  And  what  is  this 
"bond"  we  have  so  freely  talked  about?  In  order  to  answer  these 
questions  and  many  others  of  like  nature  we  shall  have  to  turn  to  the 
science  of  physiology  for  help.  We  shall  have  to  do  this  because 
the  process  of  hearing  the  "4  and  6"  pronounced  is  a  process  depending 
upon  the  functioning  of  the  ear ;  also  my  answering  with  the  word 
"ten"  is  a  process  of  moving  my  mouth  and  throat ;  and  third,  there 
is  a  process,  it  is  clear,  by  which  my  mouth  is  made  to  move  after  my 
ear  has  been  stimulated.  This  last  process  is  due  to  the  functioning  of 
nerve  cells  which  connect  my  ear  with  my  mouth  and  throat.  Now 
the  science  of  physiology  has  for  its  field  of  investigation  such  phenom- 
ena as  these  processes  just  mentioned  and  consequently  if  we  wish  to 
understand  them  more  thoroughly  we  shall  have  to  study  its  findings. 

In  this  digression  from  psychology  to  physiology  we  shall  have  but 
three  main  problems  before  us.  They  are :  first,  what  is  the  mechanism 
by  which  situations  stimulate  us?  Second,  what  is  the  mechanism  for 
making  responses?  And  third,  zvhat  is  the  mechanism  hy  which  a 
situation  is  connected  zvith  its  response?  All  of  this  information  is 
needed  in  order  that  we  may  understand  better  just  how  situations  in 
every  day  life  can,  and  do,  produce  certain  responses. 

In  order  to  get  a  bird's  eye  view  of  this  material  let  us  consider  one 
example  in  a  general  way.  It  is  not  meant  that  you  should  grasp  and 
understand  all  the  details  of  this  example, — they  will  come  after  the 
following  sections  have  been  covered — but  rather  that  you  here  shall  ob- 


LESSON  34 


18I 


tain  an  idea  of  what  the  whole  problem  is  about.  In  Plate  XXX  is  illus- 
trated in  the  simplest  way  possible  the  action  which  results  when  a 
pin  is  stuck  into  one's  skin.  "The  pin  being  stuck  into  the  skin  of 
the  arm"  (at  B)  can  represent  the  situation;  "the  arm  jerked  away" 
represented  here  by  one  muscle  (C)  is  the  response;  and  the  two  nerve 
cells,  one  extending  from  B  to  L  and  the  other  from  E  to  C  form  the 
bond.  When  the  pin  is  stuck  into  the  skin  one  or  more  pain-spots  in 
the  skin  at  that  point  are  stimulated.  This  nervous  stimulation  travels 
over  the  nerve  pathway  into  the  spinal  cord.  At  L  the  current  jumps 
a  tiny  gap  to  the  second  nerve  cell.  The  stimulation  then  proceeds 
from  the  spinal  cord  over  this  second  nerv^e  pathway  to  the  muscles 
of  the  arm  (represented  by  one  muscle  here).  The  stimulation  is  then 
transmitted  to  the  muscular  tissue,  causing  it  to  contract  and  the  arm 
is  moved  away.  All  of  the  above  is  called  a  reflex  act.  The  whole 
thing  is  done  unconsciously  and  actually  is  finished  before  one  feels  the 
pain. 


flat*  ZXZ.  SlagraiB  Illustrating  th»  sltoplest  form  ot   raflex 
aotion.  The  line  A  reureeenta  the  outer  surface  of  the  skin  being 
priolcad  by  a  pin  at  the  point  B.  D  It  the  senaoiry  nerve-fibre  ex- 
tending from  B  into  the  apinal  cord  and  ending  in  oontaet  with 
branches  from  the  aotor  nerre-oellfE) .  F. is  the  motor  nerve-fibre 
extending  from  the  motor  nerve-ooll(B).  to  the  umeole  (C).  G  ia 
the  white  area  In  the  spinal  oord  and  E  the  grey  mEtter.  K  ia  tha 
sensory  nerre-cell  of,  whiohD.  is  apart. 

Stiomlatlon  at  B  passes  over  the  sensory  nerve-fibre  to  L, 
twtpa   the  gap  to  the  siotor  -cell  f£)  and  then  passes, over  the  Dctcr 
nerve-fibre  to  C  causing  the  muscle  to  eontraot. 


THE  THREE  LEVELS  OF  NERVE  ACTION. 

The  nervous  process  illustrated  in  Plate  XXX  involves  a  sense- 
organ  (pain  spot  in  the  skin),  a  muscle,  and  nerve  cells  connecting  the 
two  together  by  way  of  the  spinal  cord.  Such  a  process  is  spoken  of 
as  belonging  to  the  "spinal  level"  of  nerve  action.  When  the  connec- 
tion  between   sense-organ   and   muscle   involves   the   mid-brain   it   is 


1 82 


INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 


grouped  in  the  "intermediate  level" ;  and  when  it  involves  the  cortex 
of  the  brain,  it  is  grouped  in  the  "cortical  level"  of  nerve  action. 

The  Spinal  Level.  Connection  between  sense-organ  and  muscle 
takes  place  in  the  spinal  cord.  Such  connection  has  already  been 
described  in  connection  with  Plate  XXX.  It  is  also  illustrated  again 
in  Plate  XXXI  where  the  stimulation  caused  by  the  pin  at  B  causes 
a  current  to  flow  from  B  to  L.  Part  of  this  current  jumps  across  the 
gap  to  E  and  then  flows  on  from  E  to  C  resulting  in  the  muscle  moving 
(arm  jerked  away). 


Plate  XXXI.  Dlagr«mi  llluatratlng  in  out- 
line form  throe  re«ponseo  rasulting  from 
stltDul&tlnfi  the  skin  by  ploklng  It  with 
a  pin(at  B).   In  the  first  oase  the 
current  flows  frotn'B  to  0  by  way  of  D, 
L,  and  E,  anft  the  hand  is  Jerked  away. 
In  the  seoond  oaea  the  current  flows 
from  B  to  Q  and  R  by  way  of  D,  L,  II,  N, 
0,  and  Q  or  D,  L,  U.  N,  S,   and  R  and  the 
eyes  are  fooused  on  the  hurt  spot.  In 
the  third  case  the  ourrent  flows  from  B 
to  X  by  way  of  Dj  L,  M,  H,  8,  t,   0;  -V, 
and  W  resulting  in  a  oonaolooa  moveiaaat 
of  the  left  hand  Bored  owr  to  rah  the 
hurt  spot. 


LESSON  34  183 

The  Intermediate  Level.  In  the  illustration  in  Plate  XXXI  part  of 
the  current  which  started  at  B  and  flowed  to  L  jumps  the  gap  to  M 
instead  of  to  E.  It  then  flows  up  the  spinal  cord  as  far  as  the  base  of 
the  brain  (to  the  mid-brain).  Here  part  of  this  current  jumps  the 
gap  from  N  to  O  and  part  to  P  (actually  to  other  points  too).  From 
O  the  current  flows  to  a  muscle  (O)  which  helps  turn  the  head  and 
from  P  it  flows  to  a  muscle  (R)  which  helps  turn  the  eye.  With  the 
help  of  many  such  muscles  the  eye  is  focused  on  the  hurt  spot.  In 
this  case,  as  in  the  first  one,  we  have  the  response  without  any  con- 
sciousness at  all.  Altho  the  spinal  cord  is  involved  in  this  action,  the 
connecting  of  the  sense-organ  with  muscles  is  in  the  mid-brain,  not  in 
the  spinal  cord. 

The  Cortical  Level.  In  the  third  process,  part  of  the  current  which 
came  up  the  spinal  cord  from  M  to  N  jumped  the  gap  to  S  and  went 
on  up  to  the  cortex  of  the  brain.  Here  it  jumped  the  gap  from  T  to  U 
and  then  started  down  through  the  brain  to  the  spinal  cord 
and  then  down  the  cord  until  it  came  to  V.  Here  it  jumped  another 
gap  to  W  and  then  flowed  out  over  this  nerve  pathway  to  muscle  (X) 
and  other  muscles  not  represented.  They  contracted  and  the  left  arm, 
let  us  say,  reached  over  and  rubbed  the  hurt  hand.  Now  this  third 
process  is  essentially  like  the  other  two  in  the  general  description  of 
the  nervous  action,  except  in  this  last  case  the  current  flowed  for  a 
part  of  the  way  thru  the  cortex  of  the  brain.  When  it  does  that  we 
are  apparently  conscious  of  the  process.  Due  to  this  third  process  we 
know  that  our  hand  hurts.  No  one  has  ever  given  a  satisfactory 
explanation  as  to  how  or  why  consciousness  is  aroused  when  nerve 
cells  in  the  cortex  are  involved  but  the  fact  remains  that  this  is  so. 
Possibly  this  analogy  may  help  us  grasp  the  general  idea,  but  it  is 
only  an  analogy  after  all.  Electric  current  flowing  from  the  dynamo 
over  wires  in  the  street  and  into  our  houses  does  not  give  off  light, 
but  it  does  give  ofif  light  when  it  flows  over  the  tungsten  filament  in 
our  incandescent  lights.  In  like  manner,  apparently,  it  is  only  when 
nervous  current  passes  over  nerve  cells  in  the  cortex  of  the  brain  that 
it  arouses  consciousness   (comparable  to  light  in  the  analogy). 

SUMMARY. 

We  have  now  traced  in  a  rough  way  how  a  situation  such  as  "a 
pin  stuck  into  the  arm"  is  connected  with  three  separate  responses, 
"jerking  the  arm  away,"  "focusing  the  eye  on  the  hurt  spot,"  and 
"rubbing  the  spot  with  the  other  hand." 

The  elements  involved  are  (i)  sense-organs  (the  mechanisms  which 
receive  stimulations),  (2)  muscles  (the  mechanisms  by  which  responses 
are  made),  and  (3)  nerve-cells  which  connect  the  two  together. 


184  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

Nerve-cells  (or  neurones,  as  they  are  more  often  termed)  may  be 
classified  as  (i)  sensory  neurones  (which  connect  a  sense-organ  to 
the  spinal  cord  or  mid-brain),  (2)  motor  neurones  (which  connect  the 
spinal  cord  or  mid-brain  to  a  muscle),  and  (3)  connecting  neurones 
(which  connect  all  parts  of  the  spinal  cord,  mid-brain  and  brain 
together) , 

Depending  on  the  point  of  connection  between  the  current  flowing  in 
from  the  sense-organ  and  flowing  out  toward  the  muscle  we  speak  of 
(i)  the  spinal  level,  (2)  the  intermediate,  or  mid-brain,  level,  or  (3) 
the  cortical  (cortex  of  the  brain)   level. 

Let  us  keep  constantly  in  mind  this  whole  process  as  depicted  in 
Plate  XXXI  and  the  above  paragraphs  so  that  as  we  proceed  to  study 
the  separate  parts  we  may  come  to  understand  them  more  and  more 
thoroughly  and  to  link  them  up  with  the  whole  process. 

LESSON  35— MECHANISM  BY  WHICH  SITUATIONS 
STIMULATE  US. 

"Situations"  can  eflfect  us  only  by  means  of  sense-organs.  It  is 
impossible  to  imagine  a  situation  which  has  neither  feeling,  warmth, 
cold,  nor  painful  quality,  and  cannot  be  seen,  heard,  smelt  or  tasted. 
A  wireless  message  going  thru  the  air  is  such  a  phenomenon  but  it  is 
not  a  situation  as  it  does  not  affect  us  at  all.  The  wireless  operator 
is  aflfected,  of  course,  by  his  receiving  instrument,  an  apparatus  which 
transforms  the  unseen  and  unheard  vibrations  into  a  series  of  clicks 
which  reach  his  ear. 

Popularly  sjjeaking  we  have  five  senses — sight,  hearing,  taste,  smell, 
and  touch.  Actually  we  have  many  more  than  these,  as  we  shall  see. 
Thru  these  sense-organs  we  receive  all  our  information  of  the  outside 
world.  The  purpose  of  this  section  is  to  make  clear  just  how  the 
process  by  which  situations  stimulate  us  takes  place. 

( During  this  laboratory  hour,  read  over  the  discussion  which  precedes 
each  set  of  instructions  and  then  perform  the  experiments.  Be  sure 
you  understand  the  point  of  each  before  passing  to  the  next.  If  you 
do  not  finish  during  the  laboratory  hour,  you  can  do  the  remainder  at 
home  as  no  particular  apparatus  is  necessary) . 

CUTANEOUS    SENSATIONS. 

Touch  is  not  a  simple  sensation  but  is  made  up  of  four  kinds  of 
sensations — touch,  pain,  warmth,  and  cold.  The  word  sensation  refers 
to  the  simplest  sort  of  conscious  response  which  is  possible  as  the  result 
of  a  sense-organ  being  stimulated.  As  one  explores  his  skin  with  the 
point  of  a  knife-blade  or  toothpick  he  is  conscious  of  touch,  of  pain, 


LESSON   35  105 

and  of  cold.  If  the  knife-blade  were  warmed  slightly,  he  would  also 
from  time  to  time  be  conscious  of  warmth.  And  after  he  had  marked 
the  spots  on  the  skin  with  different  colored  inks  where  these  different 
sensations  were  obtained,  he  would  realize  that  warmth,  or  cold,  or 
touch,  or  even  pain  can  only  be  obtained  when  certain  points  on  the 
skin  are  touched.  At  first  thought  it  is  rather  startling  to  think  that 
one's  skin  can  be  touched  in  certain  places  and  one  will  not  tte  conscious 
of  it.  But  this  is  true.  Evidently  there  are  four  different  kinds  of 
spots ;  each  arousing  a  different  sensation,  and  besides  there  are  places 
in  between  where  no  sensation  is  aroused  as  a  result  of  slight  pressure 
on  the  skin. 

Apparatus.  A  toothpick,  pin,  two  large  nails ;  black,  red,  green,  and 
purple  ink. 

Procedure,  i.  Mark  off  with  black  ink  a  '/2-inch  square,  on  the 
under  surface  of  S's  arm  2-3  of  the  way  from  the  wrist  to  the  elbow. 
Remove  all  hairs.  Now  explore  this  area  with  a  toothpick  touching  the 
skin  very  gently  so  that  the  skin  just  gives  under  the  pressure  of  the 
toothpick  and  record  each  point  at  which  S  (who  is  blindfolded) 
reports  he  feels  the  toothpick.  Do  not  drag  the  toothpick  over  the 
skin.  Record  the  points  by  making  a  tiny  black  ink  spot  on  the  skin 
wherever  you  find  a  touch  spot. 

2.  Re-explore  the  area  using  a  pin  to  discover  pain-spots.  The 
pressure  of  the  pin  should  be  only  slightly  greater  than  with  the 
toothpick.  S  should  now  report  not  touch-spots  but  only  those  spots 
where  slight  pain  is  felt.  Record  these  spots  by  making  a  tiny  red 
spot  on  the  skin. 

3.  Explore  this  area  in  the  same  way  for  cold  spots.  The  point 
of  a  lead  pencil  or  of  any  piece  of  metal,  as  a  nail,  will  serve  very  well 
for  this  purpose.  In  this  case  the  point  may  be  dragged  along  the 
skin.     Use  green  ink  to  record  your  cold  spots. 

4.  Explore  this  area  in  the  same  way  for  warm  spots.  Use  a 
warmed  nail  furnished  by  the  instructor  for  exploring  the  skin.  Use 
purple  ink  to  record  your  warm  spots.  (A  nail  protruding  slightly 
from  the  cork  of  a  bottle  containing  hot  water  does  very  well  for  this 
purpose.    The  bottles  can  be  kept  immersed  in  hot  water  until  needed.) 

Results.  Satisfy  yourself  that  you  have  the  correct  answers  to  the 
following  questions : 

1.  Do  you  get  different  sensations  when  you  stimulate  the  skin  with 
a  toothpick,  a  pin,  a  cold  nail  and  a  warm  nail? 

2.  Are  there  distinct  points  on  the  skin  which  always  give  the  same 
response,  if  they  give  any  at  all,  or  can  you  get  different  responses  from 
the  same  point  on  the  skin? 


1 86  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

3.  Will  the  toothpick  arouse  any  other  sensation  than  touch;  the 
pin,  then  pain ;  the  nail,  than  cold ;  the  warmed  nail,  than  warmth  .■' 

4.  Which  of  the  four  kinds  of  spots  are  most  numerous ;  which  least 
numerous  ? 

5.  Is  it  possible  to  touch  the  skin  with  a  toothpick  and  obtain  no 
response?  Are  there  points  on  the  skin  where  the  pin  can  be  applied 
to  the  skin  and  not  give  pain  sensation  ?  How  about  the  application  of 
cold  and  warm  nails? 

6.  What  relationship  exists  between  touch-spots  and  the  positi<w 
of  hairs  on  the  arm  ? 

KINAESTHETIC    SENSATIONS. 

Kinaesthetic  sensations  are  very  similar  to  touch  and  pain  sensations 
from  the  skin.  They  are  to  be  distinguished  from  the  latter  in  that 
the  cutaneous  sense-organs  are  located  very  near  the  surface  of  the 
skin,  whereas  the  kinaesthetic  sense-organs  are  located  within  the 
muscles  of  the  body  and  about  the  tendons  which  connect  the  muscles 
with  the  skeleton.  These  kinaesthetic  sense-organs  are  somewhat 
similar  in  structure  to  the  touch  sense-organs  of  the  skin.  They  are 
obviously  not  aroused  by  external  objects  striking  them  as  are  cutaneous 
sense-organs,  but  they  are  stimulated  by  the  changes  in  pressure  of 
the  surrounding  tissues  upon  them.  When  the  arm  is  doubled  up 
certain  muscles  have  contracted  to  accomplish  this  motion, 
certain  other  muscles  have  at  the  same  time  relaxed.  Consequently  the 
kinaesthetic  sense-organs  located  in  the  first  set  of  muscles  have  been 
more  or  less  squeezed  while  the  sense-organs  in  the  second  set  of  mus- 
cles have  not  been  pressed  upon  as  usual.  At  the  same  time  the 
sense-organs  about  the  tendons  have  been  stimulated  in  a  corresponding 
manner.  These  changes  in  stimulation  are  reported  to  the  brain  and 
thru  experience  are  interpreted  to  mean  that  the  arm  is  doubled  up. 

All  of  our  information,  as  to  where  our  arms  and  legs  and  fingers 
are,  is  reported  to  the  brain  in  this  way,  barring,  of  course,  such  addi- 
tional information  on  this  subject  as  is  reported  thru  the  eye  or  skin. 
"Movements  of  the  body,"  "weight,"  and  "resistance  to  movement" 
are  very  complex  sensations  due  to  the  brain  receiving  stimulations  of 
varying  intensities  from  thousands  of  sense-organs  scattered  thru  the 
muscles  and  about  the  tendons.  It  is  then  thru  kinaesthetic  sensations 
that  we  get  our  basic  notion  of  such  physical  ternis  as,  "motion," 
"energy"  and  "mass." 

Apparatus.     Simple  objects  at  hand. 

Procedure.  1.  Endeavor  to  lift  the  table  by  placing  one  after  another 
of  the  four  fingers  under  the  edge  of  the  table  and  lifting  up.  Deter- 
mine where  the  sense-organs  are  located  which  are  aflFected  by  this 


ivEssoN  35  187 

upward  pressure,  and  which  give  you  some  appreciation  of  the  weight 
of  the  table. 

2.  Shut  your  eyes  and  turn  the  head  slowly  about  from  right  to 
left.  Determine  where  you  obtain  part  at  least  of  the  stimulations 
which  tell  you  the  position  of  your  head  at  each  moment. 

3.  Shut  your  eyes  and  rest  your  arm  on  the  table  in  as  relaxed  a 
position  as  possible.  Let  your  partner  move  your  fingers  about  while 
you  determine  as  well  as  you  can  how  you  know  where  each  finger  is. 
Cutaneous  stimulations  are,  of  course,  present,  so  include  them  in  your 
discussion.     But  determine  what  else  is  present. 

4.  Shut  your  eyes  and  extend  your  arms  before  you  palms  up. 
Let  your  partner  place  two  books  or  similar  objects  upon  your  hands. 
Determine  how  you  distinguish  which  is  heavier. 

5.  Extend  your  left  arm  before  you  while  blindfolded.  Then  touch 
a  ix)int  on  the  left  hand  with  your  right  forefinger  as  designated  by  your 
partner.  Determine  how  you  know  where  your  left  hand  is  and  how 
you  guide  the  right  hand  to  it. 

6.  Write  your  name  as  usual ;  then  with  your  eyes  closed.  To 
what  extent  is  the  writing  of  your  name  determined  by  (a)  cutaneous 
and  knnaesthetic  sensations  and  (b)  visual  sensations? 

7.  Close  your  eyes ;  have  your  partner  hold  your  hand  and  so  move 
it  about  that  you  write  some  short  phrase.  Can  you  tell  what  was 
written  by  your  own  hand?  In  what  respect  is  this  situation  different 
from  that  of  ordinary  writing  ? 

ASSIGNMENT    FOR    NEXT    CLASS-HOUR. 

Read  over  the  remainder  of  this  section  and  then  write  out  the 
answers  to  the  above  questions. 

CUT  A  N  EOUS  SENSE-ORGAN  S. 

From  physiology  we  learn  that  located  just  beneath  the  skin  there 
are  a  number  of  diflferent  kinds  of  nerve-endings.  We  do  not  yet 
know  all  that  we  should  like  to  about  these  nerve-endings,  but  it  does 
appear  with  a  fair  degree  of  certainty  that  there  is  a  different  one  for 
each  of  the  four  sensations  of  touch,  pain,  warmth,  and  cold.  And, 
moreover,  that  a  nerve-ending  which  gives  us  the  sensation  of  cold 
never  gives  us  any  other  sensation  but  cold.  The  same  applies  to  the 
other  nerve-endings.  Bach  sense-organ  gives  us  a  characteristic  sen- 
sation and  n-ever  any  other  sensation  hut  this  characteristic  one.  This 
fact  is  important  and  should  be  especially  noted.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
many  different  kinds  of  stimulations  or  situations  can  produce  the  same 
sensation.  A  cold  spot  for  example  will  produce  a  sensation  of  cold : 
(i)  when  a  cold  object  touches  it,  (2)  when  a  hot  object  touches  it 
(but  not  when  a  warm  object  touches  it),  (3)   when  an  object  presses 


1 88  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY    FOR   TEACHERS 

on  it  (pressure),  (4)  when  it  receives  a  slight  electric  shock,  or  (5) 
when  certain  chemicals,  as  menthol,  stimulate  it.  In  the  same  way  a 
pain  spot  is  aroused  and  gives  us  the  sensation  of  pain  when :  ( i )  it  is 
lightly  touched,  (2)  it  is  affected  by  extreme  cold,  (3)  it  is  affected 
by  heat  (4)  it  is  pressed  upon,  and  (5)  it  is  stimulated  by  electricity. 
These  sense-spots  are  distributed  unevenly  over  the  surface  of  the 
body,  being  more  frequent  on  the  palms  of  the  hands  and  on  the  lips 
than  other  places  and  being  very  infrequent  on  the  back.  The  total 
number  of  the  various  sense-organs  also  varies  exceedingly.  They 
appear  in  the  approximate  ratio  of  i  warm  spot,  10  cold  spots,  10 
touch  spots,  and  40  pain  spots.  There  are  certain  portions  of  the 
body  which  are  lacking  in  one  or  more  of  these  sense-organs.  The 
cornea  of  the  eye  lacks  warm  s{X)ts  and  parts  of  the  cornea  lack  also 
cold  spots.  It  has  pain  spots  but  no  touch  spots.  A  portion  of  the  in- 
ner membrane  of  the  cheek  is  sensitive  to  touch  but  not  to  pain. 

SIMPLE   AND    COMPOUND    SENSATIONS. 

Besides  these  four  elemental  sensations  there  are  various  compound 
sensations,  such  as :  heat,  burning  sensation,  hardness,  softness,  wet- 
ness, dryness,  sharpness,  smoothness,  roughness,  itching,  (tickling, 
creepy  sensations,  blushing,  etc.  All  of  these  are  made  up  of  certain  com- 
binations of  the  four  elemental  sensations  or  of  smaller  sensations  lo- 
cated in  the  muscles.  For  example :  heat  is  a  fusion  of  warmth  and  cold ; 
burning  sensation  of  warmth  and  pain ;  itching  is  mainly  composed  of 
pain  sensations,  as  is  tickling  of  touch  sensations.  The  latter  can  be 
aroused  by  brushing  the  hairs  of  the  skin.  (At  the  base  of  each  hair  is 
located  a  touch-spot.)  Creepy  sensations  are  a  complex,  probably,  of 
pain  and  cold. 

Nature's  thermometer  illustrates  this  matter  of  compound  sensations 
very  nicely.  We  do  not  naturally  think  in  terms  of  degrees  of  heat, 
but  rather  in  terms  of  pain,  burning  hot,  hot,  lukewarm,  no  particular 
temperature,  cool,  cold,  biting  cold.  These  various  compounds  are  due 
to  different  degrees  (intensity)  of  stimulation  of  certain  sense-organs 
and  to  the  various  combinations  of  sense-organs  which  are  stimulated. 
Temperatures  of  about  86°  Fahrenheit  (82°  to  93°  according  to  the 
temperature  to  which  the  body  has  been  adjusted)  arouse  no  sensa- 
tions of  temperature.  Increasing  the  temperature  from  86"  we  first 
have  the  warm  spots  stimulated,  with  the  resulting  sensation  (response) 
of  lukewarmness.  The  higher  the  temperature  the  more  the  warm 
spots  are  stimulated,  and  the  greater  is  the  sensation  of  lukewarmness. 
At  113*  cold  spots  are  also  stimulated  and  the  resulting  fusion  of  warm 
and  cold  sensations  is  heat.  Above  122°  we  have  in  addition  to  the 
stimulations  of  warm  and  cold  sense-organs  stimulation  of  pain  sense- 


LESSON   35  189 

organs.  The  fusion  of  all  three  gives  us  the  sensations  of  burning  hot. 
In  much  the  same  way  as  we  progress  from  86°  downward  in  tem- 
perature we  get  cool  sensations  and  these  cold  sensations  due  to  cold 
spots  being  more  and  more  stimulated  until  54"  is  reached.  At  this 
point  pain  sense-organs  are  stimulated.  The  fusion  of  cold  and  pain 
sense-organs  give  us  biting  cold  and  finally  pain.  Thus  our  terms, 
"biting  cold,"  "heat,"  and  "burning  hot,"  tho  apparently  as  simple  as 
"cold,"  and  "warm,"  are  nevertheless  fusions  or  compounds  of  these 
two  simpler  sensations  together  with  "pain." 

Simple  Sensations  are  not  Learned.  As  soon  as  the  entire  nervous 
mechanism  is  in  working  order  after  birth,  a  stimulation  of  any  of 
these  four  sense-organs  will  produce  its  characteristic  sensation.  In 
other  words,  we  do  not  need  to  learn  that  a  stimulation  of  a  cold  spot 
has  the  sensation  (response)  cold.  We  are  born  with  a  bond  con- 
necting such  a  situation  with  its  response.  Such  sensations  are  com- 
parable to  reflexes. 

Compound  Sensations  are  Learned.  We  do  need  to  learn,  however, 
that  acute  touch  occurring  over  an  extremely  narrow  surface  means 
sharpness  (as  with  a  razor-blade)  or  that  when  the  finger  is  moved  with 
no  jars  and  only  touch-sensations  result  that  that  means  smoothness. 
The  compound  sensations  are  learned  while  the  simple  sensations  are 
not  (i.  e.,  are  innate).  During  the  early  months  of  life  a  baby  is 
engaged  very  largely  in  learning  what  various  combinations  of  touch, 
visual,  auditory,  etc.,  sensations  mean,  i.  e..  what  objects  arouse  these 
combination,  or  to  put  it  the  other  way  round,  what  objects  really  are, 
as  explained  in  terms  of  the  unlearned  responses  (simple  sensations) 
which  he  has  at  his  disposal.  Review  in  this  connection  the  description 
of  the  process  by  which  a  baby's  perception  of  a  rattle  develops,  as 
given  in  Lesson  19. 

In  the  early  months  of  life  we  learn  thru  trial  and  error  that  a  rat- 
tle requires  so  much  effort  to  pick  up  and  that  the  fingers  will 
close  about  it  in  a  certain  way.  A  doll,  on  the  other  hand,  will  re- 
quire more  effort  and  the  hand  will  clo.se  about  it  in  a  different 
way.  With  his  eyes  shut  a  year-old  baby  will  know  a  rattle  from  a 
doll  which  his  hand  touches,  in  terms  of  differences  in  the  number, 
location,  and  intensity  of  the  kinaesthetic  sense-organs  which  are 
stimulated  and  also  in  the  number,  location  and  intensity  of  the 
cutaneous  sense-organs  which  are  stimulated.  It  is  extremely  difficult 
for  an  adult  to  appreciate  this  fact  because  these  fusions  are  devel- 
oped very  early  in  life  and  become  so  automatic  as  very  seldom  to 
arouse  our  interest  in  them  as  such.  We  gain  a  little  notion  of  theii 
action  when  we  attempt  to  become  experts  in  distinguishing  textiles 


190  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

by  their  feeling,  or  in  estimating  weights  as  to  whether  a  letter  needs 
more  than  two  cents  postage,  etc. 

In  the  case  of  judging  textiles  we  develop  certain  concepts  which 
we  use  in  this  work,  such  concepts  being  the  fusion  of  certain  groups 
of  sensations.  An  expert  in  textiles  will  tell  you  when  you  inquire  as 
to  how  they  know  one  material  from  another  that  it  is  by  the  "look 
and  feel."  Thru  practice  they  have  built  up  certain  combinations  of 
touch  and  visual  and  even  auditory  sensations  which  mean  a  certain 
material.  If  you  press  an  expert  as  to  how  they  make  these  judg- 
ments they  usually  cannot  tell.  They  are  not  aware  of  the  separate 
sensations  which  make  up  the  total  combination.  A  few  experts  can 
give  somewhat  of  an  explanation.  Mrs.  Blanche  E.  Hyde  says  that 
she  tells  wool  by  its  "bite"  and  silk  by  its  "scroop."  The  sheep's  hair 
from  which  wool  is  made  is  not  a  smooth  hair  but  has  little  sharp 
points  which  catch  on  the  skin  when  handled,  as  any  one  knows  who 
has  worn  a  flannel  shirt.  This  is  for  Mrs.  Hyde  one  of  the  sensations 
which  makes  up  the  total  "look  and  feel''  of  wool.  But  it  is  clear  that  it 
is  only  one,  since  she  is  able  to  detect  wool  as  it  appears  in  many 
combinations  with  other  materials  and  manufactured  in  many  ways. 
The  "scroop"  of  silk  is  apparently  a  combination  of  a  certain  touch 
with  a  peculiar  rustling  noise  occasioned  when  two  pieces  of  the 
silk  are  rubbed  together  between  the  thumb  and  finger.  P>ut  to  the 
writer  other  materials  which  are  not  silk  seemingly  give  forth  a 
"scroop"  when  Tubbed.— materials  which  are  instantly  named  by 
Mrs.  Hyde. 

The  "feel,"  as  we  say,  for  location  of  keys  on  a  typewriter  or 
piano,  or  of  position  on  a  violin,  is  no  more  than  a  realization  of  par- 
ticular combinations  of  cutaneous  and  kinaesthetic  sensations.  We 
don't  know  the  individual  sensations  that  make  up  the  compound  but 
we  do  know  the  compound  itself,  as  is  shown  by  the  quickness  with 
which  we  notice  a  false  move. 

All  of  our  motor  habits  are  developed  principally  in  terms  of  kinaes- 
thetic sensations,  altho  sensations  from  other  sense-organs  play  a  more 
or  less  important  part.  For  example,  in  lacing  one's  shoes,  the  first 
movement  arouses  a  great  number  of  kinaesthetic,  cutaneous  and  visual 
sensations.  This  compound  then  makes  up  the  situation  which  starts 
the  next  movement  going.  The  second  movement  in  turn-  arouses  ?. 
new  lot  of  kinaesthetic,  cutaneous  and  visual  sensations.  They/in  turn 
form  the  situation  which  initiates  the  third  movement,  el^c.  Just 
what  part  the  visual  sensations  play  in  handwriting  as  distinguished 
from  the  kinaesthetic  can  be  readily  seen  b\'  writing  <vith  the  eyes 
open  and  then  with  them  shut.  As  there  is  no  way  of  shutting  off  the 


LESSON  35  191 

kinacsthetic  sensations  except  by  cutting  the  nerves  connecting  the 
kjnxsthetic  sense-organs  with  the  brain  we  cannot  tell  how  well  we 
roxAd  write  if  we  had  only  visual  sensations  to  guide  us.  From  cer- 
tain types  of  nervous  disorders,  however,  it  is  clear  that  we  would 
be  fearfully  handicapped  by  such  a  loss  and  that  our  best  efforts  would 
fall  far  short  of  what  we  now  do.  Possibly  the  best  way  to  realize 
this  is  to  have  some  one  hold  your  hand  at  the  blackboard  while  you 
are  blindfolded  and  guide  your  hand  so  as  to  write  various  sentences. 
Here  a  new  lot  of  kinassthetic  sensations  are  aroused  and  it  is  sur- 
pii«;ing  how  difficult  it  is  to  judge  what  one's  own  hand  has  written. 

Skill  in  the  use  of  tools  is  pretty  largely  a  matter  of  developing 
groups  of  compound  sensations  composed  of  cutaneous,  kinassthetic 
visual  and  often  auditory  sensations.  As  ordinarily  we  are  not  aware 
of  the  elements,  learning  to  use  a  plane  comes  under  our  type  3b  of 
Lesson  9 — learning  where  the  necessary  bonds  do  not  exist  and  where, 
due  to  the  number  and  complexity  of  the  elements  which  must  be 
fused,  we  cannot  calculate  the  order  of  succession  of  the  separate  move- 
ments. Consequently,  we  can  only  learn  to  use  a  plane  when  working 
with  it.  The  more,  however,  our  instructor  explains  the  plane  and 
corrects  our  faulty  moves,  the  more  are  we  made  conscious  of  the 
details  involved  in  the  whole  process  and  of  the  necessary  sequence,  and 
the  quicker  we  learn. 

WH.\T  IS  A  "situation.^" 

The  term  "situation"  has  meant  so  far  "the  sum  total  of  all  factors 
which  bring  about  a  response."  This  is  a  good  psychological  defini- 
tion of  it.  But  in  order  to  have  a  clearer  notion,  it  is  well  to  realize 
that  "the  sum  total  of  all  factors"  may  be  divided  into  two  parts. 
These  are: — (i)  an  outside  factor  which  is  stimulating  a  sense-organ 
and  (2)  a  sense-organ  that  is  stimulated  and  that  causes  a  nervous 
current  to  flow  toward  a  nerve-center.  To  make  the  distinction  clearer 
consider  the  example  of  jerking  our  hand  from  a  hot  stove.  There  is 
first  of  all  the  outside  factor  of  the  hot  stove  in  contact  with  our 
skin,  and  there  is  second  the  inner  factor  of  a  sense-organ  in  the  skin 
which  responds  to  this  stimulation  and  further  arouses  a  nervous 
current  which  causes  the  muscles  to  contract  and  jerk  the  hand  away. 
If  the  skin  were  anaesthetized  or  if  the  nerve  were  cut  no  action 
would  follow,  even  if  the  hot  stove  were  there. 

When  we  think  of  "situations"  we  must  consider  (i)  what  effect 
they  have  upon  the  sense-organs  of  an  individual ;  but  much  more 
must  we  consider  (2)  the  eflFect  within  the  individual  which  will  re- 
sult— an  effect  based  upon  the  individual's  instinctive  equipment  plus 
all  of  his  experiences  (habits)  in  life. 


192  INTRODUCrORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR   TEACHERS 

If  a  situation  arouses  the  sense-organ  the  response  which  follows 
is  the  response  which  the  sense-organ  produces.  In  other  words,  the 
organism  can  bring  about  only  those  responses  which  outside  situa- 
tions initiate,  but  what  the  responses  are  and  the  general  way  in 
which  they  appear  is  determined  by  the  inherent  nature  of  the  organism 
itself.  An  appreciation  of  this  fact  is  only  just  beginning  to  dawn 
upon  the  world  in  general.  Its  application  is  leading  to  a  more  pro- 
found knowledge  of  how  to  advertise,  how  to  sell,  how  to  handle  em- 
ployees, how  to  teach,  how  to  handle  people  in  general. 


LESSON  36.     THE  EYE:  A  MECHANISM  BY  WHICH  SITUA- 
TIONS STIMULATE  US.* 

In  the  case  of  the  cutaneous  and  kinaesthetic  sense-organs  the 
structure  of  the  sense-organ  is  relatively  simple.  There  the  stimulus 
affects  the  nerve  ending  in  a  direct  manner.  The  eye,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  an  elaborate  mechanism. 

In  order  to  understand  this  mechanism  it  is  necessary  first  of  all  to 
obtain  some  idea  of  the  structure  of  the  sense-organ  itself  and  also  the 
physical  nature  of  the  stimulus.  These  points  will  consequently  be 
considered  and  then  several  other  factors  of  a  general  nature  will 
be  presented  dealing  with  normal  and  defective  eye  sight. 
STRUCTURE  OF  THE   EYE. 

The  eye  can  be  best  understood  if  it  is  compared  to  a  camera.  The 
three  parts  essential  to  a  camera  are  the  box,  the  lens,  and  the  film. 
Let  us  consider  the  structure  of  the  eye  with  these  three  divisions 
before  us. 

The  gross  structure  of  the  eye  (the  box).  "The  eye  has  a  tough, 
thick  outer  coat,  the  sclerotic,  to  which  are  attached  the  muscles  that 
move  it"  about  in  its  socket.  "Inside  the  sclerotic  is  another  mem- 
brane, the  choroid,  which  contains  blood  vessels  and  is  provided  with 
a  dense  dark  pigment  that  renders  the  inside  of  the  eye  essentially  im- 
pervious to  all  light,  save  that  which  comes  thru  the  opening  in  the 
iris."  Inside  the  choroid  is  the  third  layer,  the  retina,  which  will  be 
discussed  later.     Note  the  relationship  of  these  parts  in  Plate  XXXII. 

The  lens  system  is  made  up  of  two  parts — the  cornea  and  the  crys- 
talline lens.  The  cornea  is  really  only  a  part  of  the  sclerotic  coat.  But 
the  structure  of  the  tissue  is  changed  somewhat  from  the  remainder 
of  the  sclerotic  layer — being  transparent  instead  of  being  white  and 
opaque.  The  lens  lies  just  behind  the  iris,  the  colored  portion  of  the 
eye.  It  is  attached  to  the  choroid  coat  by  a  ligament,  which  is  in  turn 
attached  to  the  ciliary  muscle.  Between  the  cornea  and  the  lens  we 
have  a  small  chamber  filled  with  a  liquid  much  like  water  (aqueous 
humour).  Back  of  the  lens  we  have  another  chamber,  occupying  the 
interior  of  the  eye.  This  chamber  is  filled  with  a  jelly-like  substance 
(called  the  vitreous  humour). 

The  retina  (the  film).  As  already  pointed  out,  the  retina  is  the 
inner  membrane  of  the  eye.  It  is  really  a  part  of  the  brain,  being 
composed   of  nerve-cells   which   in   the  course   of   development  have 


*CLASS-HOUR       1              IN  CLASS                        WRITE  UP 

READ 

1         Discuss,    34,    35 

36  '        EJcperiment,     37        1 

37  I         Discuss,  36,  37          I            Lesson    3  7 
36                     ! 

Lesson  36 

193 


194  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOCV    FOR   TEACHERS 

come  to  the  surface.  It  is  made  up  essentially  of  three  layers  of  these 
nerve-cells,  the  inner  layer  being  composed  of  what  are  known  as  rods 
and  coius.  (  According  to  Kolliker  the  cones  in  the  fovea  are  from 
0.0045  i^i'Ti-  to  0.0055  "^'"-  i"  diameter,  i.  e.,  0.000177  inches  to 
0.0002165  inches.  This  gives  some  idea  of  their  minuteness.)* 

Directly  opposite  the  iris  and  the  center  of  the  lens  is  the  fovea. 
This  is  a  point  in  the  retina  where  there  are  only  cones.  It  is  the  point 
of  clearest  vision — the  part  of  the  eye  which  receives  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  stimulations.  This  is  true,  since  whenever  we  are  looking 
directly  at  an  object  the  head  and  eyes  have  been  so  turned  that  the 
light  waves  fall  upon  this  spot.    Leading  back  from  the  nerve-cells  in 


F'late  XXXIl.  Opt.,  optic  nerve;  Fov.  c,  fovea  centralis;  Scler..  sclerotic;  Chor., 
choroid;  Ret.,  retina;  Conj.,  conjunctiva;  Pr.  cil.,  ciliary  processes  by  means  of  which 
lens  is  adjusted;  Cam.  ant.,  anterior  chamber  filled  with  aqueous  humour;  p.  posterior 
chamber.  Just  below  "p"  the  capsule  and  ligament  supporting  the  lens  are  shown 
attached  to  the  ciliary  processes.  Corpus  vitreum,  the  vitreous  humour  of  the  main 
cavity  of  the  eyeball.  (From  J.  R.  Angell,  Psychology.  1909,  Figure  47,  published  by 
Henry  Holt  and  Company.) 

the  retina  are  nerve-fibres  which  unite  and  form  the  optic  nerve  which 
proceeds  first  to  the  mid-brain  and  then  on  to  the  cerebrum.  The  rods 
and  cones  have  apparently  different  functions.  Color  is  perceived 
because  of  the  stimulation  of  the  cones,  while  light  and  darkness  are 
perceived  because  of  the  rods.  Especially  is  this  function  of  the  rods 
true  as  regards  vision  in  dim  light.  Color  blindness  is  due  to  an  af- 
fection of  the  cones,  while  faulty  vision  in  dim  light  is  due  to  that  of 
the  rods. 

THE    NATURE  OF   THE   LIGHT    STIMULUS. 

In  both  visual  and  auditory  sensations  we  must  distinguish  three 
different  stages  in  the  sensory  excitation.    There  are  first,  the  physical 

•Ladd  and   Woodworth,   op.   cit.,   315. 


LESSON    36  195 

Stimulus,  second,  a  physiological  change  in  the  sense-organ,  and  third, 
the  resulting  conscious  quality. 

The  visual  physical  stimulus  is  due,  so  physics  teaches  us,  to  vibration 
in  the  ether,  whereas  the  auditory  physical  stimulus  is  due  to  vibration 
in  the  air.  Such  vibrations  may  vary  in  three  ways:  in  the  rate  of 
vibration,  in  the  amplitude  of  the  vibration,  or  in  the  form  of  the  wave.* 

(i)  Changes  in  the  rate  of  vibration.  The  ether  may  vibrate  more 
slowly  or  more  rapidly.  When  it  vibrates  at  the  rate  of  390,000,000,- 
000,000  per  second  we  become  conscious  of  the  color  red.  When  it 
vibrates  at  twice  this  rate  (i.  e.,  757,000,000,000,000  per  second)  we 
become  conscious  of  violet.  The  other  colors  fall  in  between  these  two 
extremes.  Beyond  these  two  extremes  are  other  vibration  rates  which 
are  known  to  physics  but  which  do  not  stimulate  the  retina.  Ultra- 
violet rays  do  not  affect  the  human  camera  but  they  do  affect  the 
film  of  a  kodak.  Other  such  rays  invisible  to  man  are  the  X-rays,  and 
the  rays  by  which  wireless  messages  are  sent.  Changes  in  the  rate 
of  vibration  within  certain  limits  are  responsible  then  for  the  particular 
colors  that  are  consciously  seen. 

(2)  Changes  in  the  amplitude  of  the  vibration  result  in  differences 
in  the  intensity  of  the  colors,  i.  e.,  in  the  brightness  of  the  color.  Ampli- 
tude refers  to  the  amount  of  back  and  forth  swing  to  the  vibration.  If 
one  strikes  a  tuning  fork  it  gives  forth  a  loud  tone  at  the  start  when 
the  prongs  are  swinging  back  and  forth  vigorously  and  as  this  move- 
ment dies  down  the  tone  becomes  weaker  and  weaker.  Here  there  is 
a  change  in  the  amplitude  as  the  vibration  dies  down  but  no  change  in 
the  rate  of  vibration.  Suppose  in  the  case  of  light  we  have  390,000,000,- 
000,000  vibrations  per  second  striking  the  retina,  giving  us  the  sensa- 
tion red.  Now  if  the  amplitude  was  practically  zero,  i.  e.,  there  was 
practically  no  back  and  forth  swing,  this  red  would  appear  practically 
black.  As  the  amplitude  was  increased  one  would  have  successively, 
brown,  dark  red,  red,  bright  red,  pink,  and  with  a  very  great  amplitude, 
white.  Changes  in  the  amplitude,  then,  determine  the  amount  of 
white  or  gray  or  black  that  is  seen  either  alone  or  in  combination  with 
a  color. 

(3)  Changes  in  the  form  of  the  wave.  The  ether  may  be  vibrating 
so  as  to  produce  pure  red  or  pure  blue  or  it  may  be  vibrating  so  as  to 

♦Those  unfamiliar  with  these  tenns  will  dn  well  to  experiment  with  a  guy-%vire  sup- 
porting a  telephone  pole,  which  is  attached  at  the  top  of  the  pole  and  to  an  anchor  in 
the  ground.  Or  a  stout  string  tautly  stretched  from  one  end  of  the  room  to  the 
other  will  serve  the  purpose.  Strike  the  wire  with  a  stick  or  the  string  with  a  pencil 
and  note  the  wave  that  runs  along  them.  The  wire  itself  does  not  move  forward  but 
it  so  vibrates  that  a  wave  does  travel  and  if  one  will  take  hold  of  the  far  end  of  the 
wire  or  string  he  will  note  that  considerable  force  is  exerted  by  the  wire  against  its 
end  support.  In  these  examples  the  rate  of  vibration  depends  upon  the  material, 
length,  etc.,  of  the  wire.  The  amplitude  (size  of  the  wave)  depends  upon  how  hard 
it  is  hit.  The  form  of  the  wave  depends  upon  whether  it  is  hit  once  or  twice  in  very 
quick  succession,  etc. 


196  IXTRODLCTORV    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR   TliACHICRS 

produce  red  and  blue  at  the  same  moment.  In  this  case  we  are  not 
conscious  of  red  and  blue  separately  but  instead  of  the  color  purple. 
White  light  from  the  sun  is  a  case  where  the  ether  is  vibrating  to  give 
us  all  the  colors  simultaneously.  With  the  use  of  a  prism  these 
various  vibrations  can  be  separated  and  then  we  get  all  of  the  colors 
instead  of  their  blending,  which  appears    to  us  as  white. 

Chan_!^e  from  the  pliysical  stimulus  to  physiological  process.  The 
physical  stimulus — the  vibrating  ether — having  travelled  from  the 
object  outside  to  the  retina  affects  the  rods  and  cones  in  some  way  still 
unknown.  A  number  of  theories  have  been  advanced  but  no  one  has 
been  accepted  by  all.  All  that  we  do  know  is  that  here  a  radical  change 
takes  place  in  the  form  of  the  light  stimulus,  for  the  ether  vibrations 
now  set  up  certain  physiological  or  chemical  changes  in  the  rods  and 
cones.  This  chemical  action  is  then  transmitted  along  the  nerve- 
fibres  to  the  mid-brain  and  then  on  to  the  cortex  of  the  brain.  Possibly 
the  best  analogy  to  explain  the  transmission  of  this  chemical  change 
is  to  picture  a  train  of  gunpowder  along  a  sidewalk.  When  a  burning 
match  is  applied  at  one  end  the  combustion  is  almost  instantaneously 
transmitted  to  the  other  end.  Combustion  is,  of  course,  a  simple 
chemical  change,  so  that  the  spread  of  the  fire  is  an  instance  of  spread 
of  chemical  change.  Recent  experiments  prove  that  CO2  is  given  off  bv 
nerve-fibres  when  engaged  in  transmitting  stimulations,  indicating  the 
presence  of  chemical  changes  in  the  fibre.  Then,  too,  the  fact  that  the 
nervous  impulse  travels  comparatively  slowly,  i.  e.,  100  feet  per  second 
SHggests  a  chemical  process.  This  is  very  slow  as  compared  with  the 
speed  of  sound  which  is  1,100  feet  per  second,  or  of  light  with  a  speed 
of  180,000  miles  per  second.  Electricity  in  a  good  conductor  will  go 
about  as  fast  as  light.  About  all,  then,  that  we  can  say  is  that  the 
physical  stimulus  is  changed  into  a  physiological  one  when  the  light 
waves  strike  the  retina.  And  from  here  the  stimulus  is  conveyed  over 
several  nerve-cells  to  the  optic  nerve  and  over  this  pathway  to  the  mid- 
brain and  from  there  finally  to  the  cortex  of  the  brain. 

The  change  from  physiological  process  to  conscious  quality.  In  the 
cortex  of  the  brain  this  stimulus  which  has  traversed  the  optic  nerve 
gives  rise  to  the  conscious  qualities  of  brightness  (black-gray- white) 
and  color  with  which  we  are  all  familiar.  But  here  again  we  know 
nothing  as  to  how  the  nervous  changes  in  the  nerve-cells  produce  the 
qualities  of  which  we  are  conscious. 

How  u'c  see  the  North  Star.  Because  of  the  molten  state  of  the 
North  Star  it  causes  the  ether  to  be  set  into  vibration.  This  vibration- 
wave  is  very  complex  so  that  when  its  light-wave  is  broken  up  by 


LKSSOX    36  197 

passing-  it  thru  a  prism  we  can  obtain  many  different  colors.  Altho 
light  travels  at  the  incredible  rate  of  186,000  miles  per  second,  as- 
tronomers figure  it  takes  44.0  years  for  the  vibration  to  reach  the  eye. 
It  passes  thru  the  cornea,  the  aqueous  humor,  the  lens,  the  vitreous 
humour,  and  the  two  outer  layers  of  the  retina  and  finally  reaches  the 
rods  and  cones,  flere  it  arouses  a  physiological  process  (thru  chem- 
cal  changes,  possibly  somewhat  similar  to  the  change  produced  in  a 
kodak  film).  This  process  is  transmitted  to  the  brain  and  there  inter- 
preted in  terms  of  a  spot  of  light  in  the  dark  sky. 

COXVERGENCE,  DIVERGENCE  AND  ACCOMMODATION. 

By  means  of  six  muscles  attached  to  each  eye,  the  eye  balls  may  be 
turned  in  their  sockets  so  that  the  rays  of  light  from  an  object,  at 
which  we  are  looking,  may  fall  upon  the  fovea.  When  the  two  eye^ 
are  made  to  turn  inward  toward  a  nearby  object  the  process  is  called 
convergence.  When  they  are  turned  outward  toward  a  distant  object 
it  is  called  divergence.  These  little  muscles  as  they  relax  or  contract 
arouse  kinaesthetic  stimulations  which  are  scarcely  ever  noticed  in  a 
conscious  way.  Nevertheless,  estimation  of  distance  is  based  to  a  very 
considerable  extent  upon  these  stimulations. 

Thru  the  processes  of  convergence  and  divergence  the  two  eyes  are 
adjusted  so  as  to  be  both  turned  toward  the  same  point.  But  this  is 
not  sufficient  to  secure  clear  vision.  In  a  camera  we  must  regulate 
the  distance  of  the  lens  from  the  film  according  as  the  object  to  be 
photographed  is  near  or  far  away.  In  the  human  eye  this  adjustment 
is  made  not  by  moving  the  lens  but  by  changing  its  shape.  This 
process  is  called  accommodation.  The  ciliary  muscle  controls  the  lens 
causing  it  to  become  more  or  less  convex,  thus  affecting  the  con- 
vergence of  the  rays  of  light  upon  the  fovea.  In  monocular  vision 
differences  in  distance  up  to  a  few  feet  can  be  estimated  fairly  acai- 
rately  in  terms  of  the  kinaesthetic  sensations  arising  from  the  ciliary 
muscle.     These  estimations  are,  how-ever,  unconsciously  made. 

DEFECTIVE  VISION. 

Myopia  and  Hyperopia.  In  the  normal  eye  the  distance  from  the 
cornea  to  the  fovea  is  20  millimeters  {^/\  of  an  inch).  If  now  the 
eye  is  so  constructed  that  this  distance  is  greater  than  20  mm.  the  image 
of  distant  objects  is  formed  in  front  of  the  retina  and  only  near  objects 
can  be  clearly  seen  (near-sightedness  or  myopia).  On  the  other  hand, 
if  this  distance  is  less  than  20  mm.  then  the  image  of  objects  will  be 
formed  behind  the  retina  and  the  refractive  power  of  the  eye  must  be 
increased  to  permit  of  clear  vision  (long-sigtitedness  or  hyperopia). 
*'The  hyperopic  eye  must  consequently  exert  an  effort  of  accommoda- 


198  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

tion  in  order  clearly  to  see  objects  at  a  distance,  while  for  near  work 
this  effort  must  be  excessive.  The  result  is  that  the  hyperopic  eye  is 
under  constant  and  abnormal  strain  from  the  incessant  demands  upon 
its  ciliary  muscle,  and  that,  in  consequence,  numerous  secondary  symp- 
toms or  resultant  effects  appear,  some  of  them  obvious,  others  unex- 
pected, many  of  them  serious.  Local  symptoms  appear  in  inflammation, 
redness,  or  soreness  of  the  eyes,  lids  or  conjunctiva,  and  in  twitchings 
and  pain  within  the  eye  ball.  Aside  from  these  local  disturbances, 
periiaps  the  most  constant  symptom  of  hyperopia  is  frontal  or  occi- 
pital headache."* 

Both  myopia  and  hyperopia  may  be  counteracted  by  the  use  of 
glasses. 

Astigmatism.  "In  a  perfectly  normal  or  ideal  eye  the  refractive 
surfaces,  cornea,  anterior  and  posterior  surfaces  of  the  lens,  are  sec- 
tions of  true  spheres,  and,  all  the  meridians  being  of  equal  curvature 
the  refraction  along  these  different  meridians  is  equal.  Such  an  eye  will 
bring  the  cone  of  rays  proceeding  from  a  luminous  point  to  a  focal 
point  on  the  retina,  barring  the  disturbing  influence  of  chromatic  and 
spherical  aberration.  If,  however,  one  or  all  of  the  refractive  surfaces 
have  unequal  curvatures  along  different  meridians,  then  it  is  obvious 
that  the  rays  from  a  luminous  point  cannot  be  brought  to  a  focal 
point,  since  the  rays  along  the  meridian  of  greater  curvature  will  be 
brought  to  a  focus  first  and  begin  to  diverge  before  the  rays  along 
the  lesser  curvature  are  focused.  Such  a  condition  is  designated  as 
astigmatism."t 

In  a  person  afflicted  with  astigmatism  there  must  be  a  ceaseless 
activity  of  the  ciliary  muscle  as  first  one  point  and  then  another  of  a 
scene  is  focused.  In  normal  vision  many  of  such  points  can  be  focused 
at  the  same  time  thereby  requiring  less  effort  of  this  muscle  and  also 
providing  fuller  and  richer  vision.  Astigmatism  can  ordinarily  be 
corrected  by  wearing  properly  fitted  glasses. 

Color-blindness.  About  4%  of  men  and  less  than  0.5%  of  women 
are  color-blind.  Most  of  these  are  red-green  blind  which  means  that 
they  do  not  see  any  difference  between  these  two  colors.  "Total  color- 
blindness, while  well-authenticated,  is  rare,  and  is  presumably  a  path- 
ological defect."  "It  is  obvious  that  many  callings  are,  or  should  be, 
closed  to  the  color-blind,  e.  g.,  railroading,  marine  and  naval  service, 
medicine,  chemical  analysis,  painting  and  decorating,  certain  branches 
of  botany,  microscopy,  mineralogy,  the  handling  of  dry  goods,  mil- 
linery, etc.  In  some  phases  of  school  work,  the  color-blind  pupil  is 
likewise  at  an  evident  disadvantage.  The  color-blind  test  should,  ac- 
cordingly, be  regularly  instituted  in  the  early  years  of  school  life,  in 

*C.  M.  Whipple,  Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests,  2nd  edition,   1914,  p.    164. 
tW.   H.    Howell.   A   Text-Book   of   Physiology,    1907,   p.    302. 


LESSON    36  199 

order  that  the  existence  of  the  defect  may  be  made  known  to  the  child 
as  soon  as  possible."* 

FUSION  OF  VISUAL  AND  TACTUAL  SENSATIONS. 

Professor  Stratton  carried  on  some  experiments  a  number  of  years 
ago,  as  follows.  He  wore  constantly  for  a  week  a  pair  of  glasses  with 
two  lenses  so  constructed  that  every  object  appeared  upside  down. 
"The  results  showed  that  an  experience  coming  from  such  an  image 
would  in  time  be  indistinguishable  from  our  normal  experience.  The 
first  effect  was  to  make  things,  as  seen,  appear  to  be  in  a  totally  dif- 
ferent place  from  that  in  which  they  were  felt.  But  this  discord  be- 
tween visual  and  tactual  positions  tended  gradually  to  disappear;  not 
that  the  visual  scene  finally  turned  to  the  position  it  had  before  the  in- 
version, but  rather  the  tactual  feeling  of  things  tended  to  swing  into 
line  with  the  altered  sight  of  them.  The  observer  came  more  and 
more  to  refer  his  touch  impressions  to  the  place  where  he  saw  the  ob- 
ject to  be ;  so  that  it  was  clearly  a  mere  matter  of  time  when  a  com- 
plete agreement  of  touch  and  sight  would  be  secured  under  these 
unusual  conditions."  As  Stratton  points  out  "harmony  of  touch  and 
sight  can  grow  up  under  the  greatest  variety  of  circumstances,  pro- 
vided merely  that  the  experience  remains  uniform  long  enough  to  de- 
velop fixed  expectation. t 

Undoubtedly  this  is  exactly  what  has  happened  to  each  of  us  in  in- 
fancy. The  child  is  engaged  in  early  life  in  receiving  a  maze  of  sensa- 
tions and  as  certain  combinations  occur  over  and  over  they  become 
fused  together  and  finally  become  thought  of  as  an  object.  A  rattle, 
for  example,  is  at  first  a  hodgepodge  of  tactual,  kinaesthetic,  visual, 
and  auditory  sensations.  Eventually  it  is  a  rattle  having  all  of  these 
various  characteristics,  and  moreover  when  it  is  touched  in  the  dark 
the  tactual  stimulations  bring  to  mind  not  only  tactual  notions  of  the 
rattle  but  also  visual,  kinaesthetic,  and  auditory  sensations  all  fused 
logether  into  the  percept  of  a  rattle. 

SUMMARY 

The  eye  is  merely  a  mechanism  for  adjusting  physical  light 
\  ibrations  so  that  they  will  arouse  physiological  chan2:es  in  the  retina, 
\'  hich,  in  turn,  will  be  conveyed  to  the  brain  and  interpreted  in  terms 
of  cur  past  experiences.  A  visual  situation  must  be  thought  of,  not 
in  terms  of  the  object  itself,  but  in  terms  of  the  nervous  processes 
which  are  aroused  by  it. 

ORGANIC,   GUSTATORY,   OLFACTORY,    AUDITORY   AND   STATIC   SENSATIONS 

In  addition  to  cutaneous,  kinaesthetic  and  visual  sensations,  we  have 


•G.   M.  Whipple,  op.  cit..   p.    189. 

tG.   ^\.  Stratcon.   Experimental  Psychology   and  Culture.    1903.  p.    146-149. 


200  INTRODUCTORY   rSVCIIOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

several  others.  Organic  sense-organs  are  similar  to  cutaneous  and 
kinaesthetic,  but  are  located  not  in  the  skin  or  about  the  muscles,  but 
in  and  about  the  internal  organs.  From  these  sense-organs  we  obtain 
the  little  information  that  we  do  receive  as  to  the  working  of  these 
organs.  They  arouse  such  sensations  as  thirst,  hunger,  nausea,  heart- 
burn, suffocation,  pain  of  a  general,  massive,  agony  type,  and  general 
bodily  feelings  of  well  or  ill.  Gustatory  sense-organs  are  located  in 
the  mouth,  and  olfactory  in  the  upper  portion  of  the  nasal  cavity. 
Sensations  of  taste  and  odor  are  too  familiar  to  need  discussion  here. 

Organic,  gustatory  and  olfactory  sensations  are  similar  to  cutaneous 
and  kinaesthetic.  A  specific  stimulus  affects  a  very  simple  sense- 
organ  consisting  apparently  of  not  much  more  than  a  nerve  ending 
and  we  obtain  the  sensation  characteristic  of  that  sense-organ. 

Auditory  situations,  on  the  other  hand,  are  received  and  affect 
consciousness  by  means  of  an  elaborate  receiving  mechanism  similar 
to  the  eye  in  complexity.  It  is  not  essential  that  the  anatomy  of  the 
ear  be  mastered.  It  is  sufficient  that  one  realizes  that  a  physical 
stimulation — vibration  of  the  air — is  converted  within  the  ear  into  a 
physiological  stimulation  which  is  transmitted  over  the  auditory  nerve 
to  the  brain  and  that  there  the  air  vibration  is  expressed  in  con- 
sciousness in  the  form  of  different  tones  and  noises  and  their 
combinations. 

Still  another  type  of  situation  which  affects  us  is  known  as  the 
"static."  We  are  not  directly  conscious  of  it,  but  only  indirectly 
through  its  influence  upon  other  sense-organs,  particularly  the  organic 
stnse-organs.  Within  the  semi-circular  canals  of  the  ear  and  two 
adjacent  small  bodies  are  little  hairs  projecting  into  the  liquid  filling 
these  organs.  Whenever  the  head  is  moved,  the  liquid  is  disturbed, 
just  as  water  in  a  glass  is  disturbed  if  the  glass  is  moved.  The  liquid 
in  turn  disturbs  the  hairs,  which  in  turn  excite  the  nerves  connected 
with  them.  These  stimulations  are  transmitted  to  the  mid-brain 
and  from  thence  to  various  sense-centers  which  control  the  move- 
ments of  the  body.  Here  is  the  mechanism,  for  example,  which  starts 
the  movement  to  regain  our  equilibrium  when  we  slip  on  a  banana 
peel.  Excessive  stimulation  of  these  static  sense-organs,  as  in 
swinging  in  a  swing,  whirling  around,  being  tossed  alx)ut  in  a  ship, 
etc.,  brings  about  changes  in  the  bodily  organs.  These  changes  in  turn 
affect  the  organic  sense-organs  therein  situated  and  we  feel  dizzy, 
or  seasick. 

REFERENCES 

W.  H.  Howell,  Texi-book  of  Physiology,  1907,  pp.  286-362. 

J.  R.  Angell,  Psychology,  1909,  pp.  131-145. 


LESSON   2,7  20I 

Ladd  &  Woodvvorth,  Physiological  Psychology,  191 1,  pp.  182-196. 
\\\  B.  Pillsbury,  Essentials  of  Psychology,  191 1,  pp.  82-95. 
J.  D.  Lickley,  The  Nervous  System,  191 2,  Chap.  X. 
G.    M.    Whipple,    Manual   of   Mental   and   Physical    Tests,    1914, 
pp.  164-200. 

LESSON  37— HOW  DOES  ONE  ESTIMATE  DISTANCE? 

SPACE-PF.RCEl<riON. 

The  first  few  minutes  of  the  laboratory  hour  will  be  devoted  to  a 
Jenionstraton  of  a  model  of  the  eye.  Be  prepared  to  clear  up  any 
difficulties  you  had  in  obtaining  a  general  idea  of  the  constnuction 
of  the  eye. 

We  have  seen  in  Lesson  35  that  there  are  four  cutaneous  sensa- 
tions which  are  simple  experiences  and  cannot  be  resolved  into  any 
simpler  sort  of  consciousness.  We  have  also  seen  that  there  are  a 
great  many  other  so-called  sensations  which  appear  at  first  thought 
to  be  equally  simple,  such  as  hardness,  softness,  dryness,  smoothness, 
etc.  But,  on  closer  study,  these  can  all  be  resolved  into  simpler  sen- 
sations. These  so-called  sensations  have  been  referred  to  as  com- 
pound sensations.  Compound  sensations  have  been  developed  thru 
experience — have  been  learned.  Another  term  of  somewhat  similar 
meaning  is  "percept."  When  we  use  the  expression  "compound  sen- 
sation" we  have  reference  primarily  to  the  abstract  quality,  say  of 
sharpness ;  when  "percept"  is  employed  we  are  thinking  of  the  par- 
ticular object  which  is  sharp.  Actually,  it  is  very  improbable  if  we 
ever  experience  "sharpness"  as  a  compound  sensation  in  this  sense, 
but  rather  always  think  not  only  of  sharpness  but  also  of  the  object 
which  occasions  the  sharpness.  That  is,  the  combination  of  elementary 
sensations  gives  us  directly  the  perception  of  a  sharp  object. 

But  a  percept  can  be  and  usually  is  much  more  complex  that  a  com- 
pound sensation.  The  percept  of  an  apple  includes  sensations  of 
vision,  touch,  taste,  smell  and  hearing  (sound  of  crunching  a  piece  of 
apple)  whereas  a  compound  sensation  has  reference  to  combinations  of 
sensations  from  the  same  sense-organ. 

Apparently  the  estimation  of  any  distance  is  a  perception,  due  to 
the  combination  of  certain  sensations  experienced  together  and  from 
experience  known  as  "this  object"  "so  far  from  us."  Now  we  want 
to  discover  in  this  lesson  and  in  Lesson  39  some  of  the  factors  in 
terms  ot  which  we  perceive  that  a  certain  object  is  nearer  than  a 
second  object  and  farther  away  than  a  third  object.  For  example, 
how  do  TOW  know  that  the  tree  you  see  is  outside  the  window  instead 


202  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR   TEACHERS 

of  inside?     How   do  you   know   this   telephone  pole  is   nearer  than 
that  one? 

This  problem  is  assigned  not  only  because  it  is  worth  while  in 
itself,  but  because  it  will  ilustrate  to  some  extent  how  we  have  built 
up  thru  experience  such  notions  as  distance,  time,  space,  height, 
weight,  etc.  In  fact,  the  fundamental  principles  of  how  we  have  learned 
It.  estimate  distance  underlie  the  development  of  all  our  perceptions 
of  objects,  as  a  cow,  horse,  barn,  book,  etc. 

This  problem  is  also  assigned  because  it  illustrates  the  analysis 
teachers  must  make  of  the  processes  they  are  to  teach.  The  more 
aetailed  a  grasp  of  the  separate  processes  involved  in  using  a  plane, 
cr  saw,  or  ])en,  or  typewriter  he  has,  the  better  can  the  teacher  teach 
their  use.  For  when  the  complex  whole  has  been  analyzed  into  its 
component  parts,  then  the  teacher  can  call  the  student's  attention  to 
the  parts  and  aid  him  in  mastering  each  part  and  performing  them  in 
their  proper  sequence.  Otlierwise  the  learning  must  be  entirely  a 
"trial  and  error"  performance  —  the  most  irritating  and  inefficient 
way  of  learning. 

ESTIMATION    OF   DISTANCE. 

The  problem  before  us  primarily  is  the  determination  of  the  relative 
distance  of  one  object  in  reference  to  other  objects,  i.  e.,  is  it  nearer 
or  farther  away  than  some  other  object?  The  conversion  of  this 
idea  of  relative  distance  into  measurements  of  distance,  such  as  stat- 
ing its  distance  in  feet,  is  another  matter  and  will  not  concern  us 
in  this  experiment. 

If  we  close  one  eye  and  move  our  finger  back  and  forth  toward  the 
nose  and  then  away  from  it,  it  is  clear  that  we  can  determine  its  position 
with  regard  to  our  nose  very  well.  How  we  do  this  with  one  eye 
(monocular  vision)   is  one  problem. 

If  we  look  with  both  eyes  at  near  objects  and  then  objects  farther 
away  (but  less  than  lOO  feet),  it  is  again  clear  that  we  can  determine 
their  relative  position  very  well.  How  we  do  this  with  both  eyes  (binoc- 
ular vision)  is  a  second  problem. 

And  if  we  look  at  distant  objects  thru  the  window,  it  is  also  clear 
that  we  can  determine  their  relative  distance,  although  possibly  not 
so  well.     How  we  do  this  is  a  third  problem. 

The  second  problem  of  binocular  vision  under  loo  feet  distance  will 
be  tackled  in  this  lesson ;  the  first  and  third  problems  in  Lesson  39. 

EXPERIMENT 

Problem:  What  are  the  factors  underlying  the  Perception  of 
Distance  of  Objects  zvithin  100  feet  unth  Binocular  Vision f 


LESSON   37  203 

Apparatus:  A  number  of  small  objects;  a  stereoscope  and  views 
of  the  Titchener  Series. 

Procedure: 

(i)  Selvct  some  narrow  object  (A),  as  the  strini^  attached  to  the 
curtain  in  the  window,  or  the  wooden  strip  between  two  panes  ct 
glass  in  the  window,  or  a  drop  cord  supporting  an  electric  light.  Seat 
yourself  so  that  you  can  look  past  the  object  to  some  other  object  (B) 
some  distance  away.  Now  alternately  focus  on  A  and  B  fifteen  to 
twenty  times.  Note  that  A  appears  first  as  one  string  and  then  as 
two  strings.  Note  the  change  in  the  strain  felt  in  the  eyes.  And  note 
also  changes  in  the  position  of  your  partner's  eyeballs  when  he  is 
thus  focusing  back  and  forth, 

(2)  Select  two  Imoks  (C  and  D).  Stand  book  C  on  end  upon 
the  table  with  its  side  about  three  feet  away  (placed  at  three  feet  to 
exaggerate  the  phenomenon).  Stand  book  D  a  few  inches  nearer  and 
with  its  back  towards  you.  Book  D  now  stands  more  or  less  perpen- 
dicular to  lx»ok  C.  Now  note  the  difference  in  the  details  which  can 
be  seen  of  book  D  as  you  look  at  it  alternately  with  the  rigkt  eye  and 
the  left  e\  e.  Also  observe  the  differences  which  can  be  seen  in  book  C 
under  the  two  conditions — book  C  acting  as  a  background  for  the  view 
of  hook  D.  (If  you  do  not  discover  such  differences  in  book  C,  move 
your  position  slightly.  But  be  very  careful  not  to  move  the  head  from 
side  to  side  as  you  look  alternately  with  one  eye  and  the  other.) 
Note  the  following  points:  (a)  The  two  views  are  different;  (b)  the 
points  on  the  back  of  the  book  D  are  displaced  more  from  right  to  left 
than  the  points  of  book  C;  (c)  the  view  seen  by  the  two  eyes  together 
is  a  fusion  of  what  both  eyes  see — not  an  average  of  what  the  two 
see — and  one  is  not  conscious  of  whether  he  sees  a  detail  with 
one  eye  or  with  the  other  (not  until  he  has  experimented). 

Confirm  these  points  and  add  any  others  that  are  discovered  thru 
studying  these  and  other  objects  about  the  room.  Draw  what  is  seen 
with  each  eye  separately  when  looking  at  the  two  books. 

(3)  Carefully  note  the  differences  in  the  details  of  the  two 
photographs  which  comprise  a  stereoscopic  picture  (use,  for  example. 
Nos.  15,  17,  37,  etc.,  of  the  Titchener  series).  Choose  two  points  in 
the  picture,  one  of  which  is  in  the  very  near  foreground  and  the  other 
far  back  in  the  background.  Measure  carefully  the  distance  from 
these  two  points  to  the  right  hand  edge  of  the  picture  in  which  they 
occur.  Note  whether  a  near-point  varies  more  to  the  right  and  left 
in  the  two  photographs  than  a  distant  point. 

(4)  Xote  slide  No.  i.  Here  are  two  views  composed  of  two  dots 
each.     In  the  right  hand  view,  however,  the  dots  are  spaceil  farther 


204  IMROULCTOUV    PSVCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

ipart  than  in  the  left  liand  \icvv.  Why,  when  seen  in  the  stereoscope, 
does  one  dot  appear  nearer  than  the  other?  Would  this  occur  if  the 
spacing  between  the  two  dots  was  the  same  in  the  two  views? 

Results:  Carefully  compare  your  findings  in  the  four  experiments. 
What  relationship  do  they  bear  to  one  another?  Answer  the  following 
questions,  after  reading  over  the  section  in  Lesson  36  on  "Convergence, 
Divergence  and  Accommodation": 

(i)  How  do  the  differences  in  what  is  seen  by  the  two  eyes  of  a 
near  object  differ  from  what  is  seen  of  a  distant  object?  How  do  the 
differences  in  objects  in  the  foreground  of  two  stereoscope  pictures 
ci-'ffer  from  the  differences  in  objects  in  the  background?    Explain. 

(2)  Is  there  any  relationship  between  the  differences  in  the  view 
of  a  book  as  seen  by  the  two  eyes  and  the  differences  between  two 
stereoscopic  pictures?     Explain. 

(3)  Is  it  correct  to  state  that  when  the  two  views  of  an  object,  as 
recorded  on  the  retina  of  the  two  eyes,  differ,  then  those  points  which 
differ  most  are  seen  as  nearby  while  those  points  which  differ  only  a 
little  are  seen  as  far  away?    Explain  your  point  of  view. 

Application.  What  general  relationship  is  there  between  the  results 
discovered  here  and  learning  in  general? 

ASSIGNMENT    FOR    NEXT   CI.ASS   HOUR 

1.  Write  up  the  above  experiment. 

2.  Be  prepared  to  discuss  Lesson  36  in  class. 

3.  During  the  next  few  days  be  gathering  data  on  how  you  are 
able  to  determine  the  relative  distance  of  objects,  both  of  which  are 
more  than  100  feet  away.  Jot  down  every  clue  that  comes  to  mind. 
(The  answers  to  this  problem  are  very  simple,  so  simple  that  most 
students  overlook  them  in  endeavoring  to  discover  some  profound 
proposition.) 


LESSON    38.     THE    MECHANISM    BY    WHICH    RESPONSES 

ARE  MADE"" 

In  Lesson  34  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  whole  physiological  explanation 
of  behavior  was  presented.  This  was  expressed  under  three  general 
Leadings:  Stimulation  of  a  sense-organ  (the  situation),  movement 
of  a  muscle  or  muscles  (the  response),  and  the  connection  of  sense- 
organ  and  muscle  (the  bond).  In  Lessons  35  and  36  we  have  studied 
typical  mechanisms  by  which  situations  affect  us.  We  have  seen  that 
certain  kinds  of  stimulations  arouse  a  sense-organ  to  activity  and  that 
that  activity  is  passed  on  over  nerve  pathways  to  the  spinal-cord  or 
brain.  We  now  shall  consider  how  the  response  is  made  to  these 
situations. 

In  order  to  have  before  us  a  proper  perspective,  consider  again 
the  example  given  in  Plate  XXX.  There  is  illustrated  the  simplest 
lossible  type  of  situation  and  response  (reflex  action).  A  pin  is 
stuck  into  the  skin.  One  or  more  pain  and  touch  spots  are  stimulated. 
A  nervous  discharge  from  thes(e  sense-organs  proceeds  over  the 
nervous  pathway  to  the  spinal-cord.  This  current  then  jumps  a  gap 
to  another  nerve-cell  along  whose  fibre  it  proceeds  until  it  reaches 
the  muscle  C.  This  muscle  then  contracts  and  the  arm  is  pulled  away. 
(Actually,  the  case  is  more  comj^lex,  involving  more  than  one  muscle 
and  more  than  one  pathway.)  This  example  illustrates  a  complete 
situation-response  functioning.  The  problems  before  us  are:  Just 
how  does  a  stimulated  muscle  move  a  portion  of  the  body,  and,  second, 
how  does  a  nervous  current  stimulate  the  muscle  and  cause  it  to  react  ^ 

HOW  DOES  THE  CONTRACTION  OF  A  MUSCLE  MOVE  A  PART  OF  THE  BODY? 

In  Plate  XXXIII  is  shown  a  diagram  of  the  two  major  muscles  of 
the  upper  arm  and  their  relation  to  the  bones  of  the  arm,  forearm,  and 
shoulder.  The  biceps  ("4"  in  the  diagram)  is  attached  to  the  shoulder 
and  to  the  bones  of  the  forearm.  In  the  latter  case  it  is  attached  j 
short  distance  beyond  the  elbow  end  of  the  bone.  The  bones  of  the 
forearm  and  upper  arm  are  jointed  together  somewhat  after  the 
fashion  of  a  door-hinge.  If  tlie  biceps  should  contract,  it  is  clear  that 
it  would  pull  the  shoulder  blade  and  the  bones  of  the  forearm.  Either 
the  shoulder  or  the  forearm  bones  would  have  to  move.  As  the 
shoulder  is  fastened,  the  forearm  has  to  swing  up.  The  forearm  acts 
like  a  lever  here. 


•CLASS-HOUR 

IN    CLASS                       WRITE  UP 

READ 

38 
39 
40 

Discuss.    Les.    36,    37 

Experi.    Les.    39                         Lesson  39 

Discuss,    Les.   38,   39 

Lesson  3  8 

205 


206  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 


Plate  XXXIH.  Motor  Mechanism.  I.  The  humerus.  2.  The  muscle  by  which  the 
joint  is  straightened  (the  triceps).  3.  Its  insertion.  4.  The  muscle  by  which  the  elbow 
ia  bent  (the  biceps).  5.  Its  origin.  6.  Its  insertion.  When  the  muscle  4  contracts 
by  an  amount  represented  by  7  to  8,  the  amount  of  motion  of  the  ball  wiU  be  rep- 
resented by  9  to  II.  There  is  a  loss  of  power  which  is  compensated  by  an  increase  of 
motion.    (D.   J.   Hill,   The  Elements   of  Psychology,    1888,   p.   401). 

A  slight  pull  on  it  at  6,  where  the  biceps  is  attached  to  it.  results  in 
a  large  movement  at  the  finger  ends.  In  compensation  for  the  increase 
in  motion  at  12  over  that  at  7,  there  is  a  corresponcJing  loss  in 
power.  Contraction  of  the  biceps  results,  then,  in  movement  of  the 
forearm. 

Muscles  which  have  to  do  with  movements  of  the  body  are  attached 
lo  the  bones  of  the  body.  They  are  normally  in  a  state  of  elastic 
tension.  In  most  cases,  they  are  in  pairs,  as  in  the  case  of  the  forearm. 
One  pulls  the  arm  up,  the  other  down.  The  elastic  tension  is  con- 
ducive to  a  sm(X)th  and  very  prompt  movement.  When  the  biceps  is 
stimulated  so  as  to  contract,  the  triceps  are  stimulated  so  as  to  relax, 
and  vice  versa. 

i;OW     DOES     THE     NERVOUS     CURRENT     STIMULATE     THE     MUSCLE     AND 

CAUSE    IT   TO    REACT.? 

Before  answering  this  question,  a  few  facts  need  to  be  considered 
concerning  the  structure  of  the  muscle.  There  are  two  kinds  of 
):iuscles:  (i)  Striated  skeletal  muscle,  and  (2)  plain  muscle.  Muscles 
which  move  the  body  belong  to  the  first  group,  while  muscles  which 
have  to  do  with  the  blood  vessels,  alimentary  canal,  glands  of  the 
body,  etc.,  belong  to  the  second  group.  We  shall  consider  here  only 
the  former  group.  A  skeletal  muscle  is  made  up  of  many  fiber.s 
composed  of  a  single  cell,  enclosed  in  an  elastic  membrane.  When 
the  motor  nerve  enters  the  muscle,  it  subdivides  and  subdivides  until 
t'lere  is  at  least  one  nerve  fibril  attaching  itself  to  each  fibre  of  the 
ruiscle.  The  point  of  attachment  is  near  the  middle  of  the  fibre. 
This  point  is  called  a  motor  end-plate.  Returning  to  our  main 
question  now,  we  can  see  that  when  a  nervous  stimulation  is  trans- 
mitted from  the  spinal  cord  to  the  muscle  it  reaches,  by  way  of  these 
motor  end-plates,  every  fibre  in  the  muscle.    The  effect  of  this  stimu- 


LESSON  38  207 

lation  on  the  muscle  is  to  produce  a  chemical  change  (as  yet  not  very 
well  understood)  which  causes  the  fibre  to  contract.  Consequently, 
the  whole  muscle  contracts,  and  its  attached  bone  is  moved. 

When  a  muscle  contracts,  it  gives  off  heat  and  electrical  energy 
and  produces  work.  In  other  words,  the  chemical  change  caused  by 
the  stimulation  of  the  muscle  can  be  likened  to  the  case  of  a  gas- 
engine,  where  heat  and  work  result  from  the  combustion  of  gasoline. 
But  the  human  muscle  is  a  very  much  more  efficient  engine  than  a 
steam  or  gasoline  engine.  Only  10  to  15  per  cent,  of  the  energy  con- 
tained in  coal  is  converted  into  work  by  a  steam  engine,  15  to  25 
]'er  cent,  of  the  energy  in  gasoline  in  the  case  of  a  gasoline  engine, 
wliereas  from  25  to  even  40  per  cent,  is  utilized  in  the  case  of  a  muscle. 
The  remainder  of  the  stored-up  energy  is  wasted  mainly  in  the  form 
cf  heat.  In  the  case  of  an  engine,  this  is  all  pure  waste,  but  in  the 
case  of  the  animal,  much  of  this  heat  is  utilized  in  keeping  the 
organism  warm. 

FATIGUE 

The  contraction  of  the  muscle  is  due  to  chemical  changes.  As  a 
result  of  these  changes,  carbon  dioxide  gas  (CO2),  lactic  acid 
(C3H6O3),  and  acid  poassium  phosphate  (KH2PO4)  are  liberated, 
(^ilycogen,  the  form  in  which  digested  su;.?ar  is  stored  in  the  body, 
disappears.  Fatigue,  which  is  due  to  excessive  contractions  of  muscles, 
i-  chemically  the  loss  of  glycogen  and  the  abnormal  presence  of  these 
by-products.  As  a  steam  engine  will  cease  to  run  when  the  coal  is 
exhausted  or  when  th^-  grates  are  choked  with  ashes,  so  a  muscle 
becomes  fatigued  when  the  glycogen  is  used  up  or  the  muscle  is 
poisoned  by  the  waste  products  of  its  combustion. 

Whether  work  is  fatiguing  or  not  depends  largely  upon  whether 
the  blood  can  sup;  ly  glycogen  fast  enough  to  supply  the  working 
muscle  and  at  the  same  time  remove  the  waste  products.  The  faster 
the  muscles  are  o;>eratin3,  the  greater  the  load  upon  the  heart,  lungs 
and  blood,  and  the  quicker  fatigue  will  appear.  Recently,  experiments 
have  demonstrated  that  the  establishment  of  short  rest  periods  thruout 
the  working  hours  tends  to  lessen  fatigue  and  so  permit  of  a  greater 
amount  of  work  being  done.  The  wheelbarrow  men,  mentioned  in 
Lesson  i,  who  could  do  more  work  by  working  twelve  minutes  and 
resting  three  minutes  in  every  fifteen  minutes,  instead  of  working 
steadily  all  day,  illustrated  this  fact.  The  principle  is  now  well  recog- 
nized in  industry  and  is  being  utilized  by  many  firms. 

As  so-called  mental  work  seldom  calls  for  a  steady,  rapid  use  of  any 
set  of  muscles,  the  rest-period  principle  hardly  applies  to  it  as  it  does 
to  hard  physical  labor.    A  recess  period  every  hour  or  two  is  probably 


208 


INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 


all  that  is  necessary  to  rest  the  large  muscles  which  are  engaged  in 
supporting  the  body  while  one  is  reading  or  writing.     Experin>ental 
studies  of  fatigue  from  mental  work  show  that  the  amount  of  fatigue 
is  very  small.     For  example,  "Heck*  gave  tests  to  school  children  at 
four  periods   during  the   day  —  between  9   A.  M.   and  9.30   A.  M., 
between  11  A.  M.  and  11  :30  A.  M.,  shortly  after  i  P.  M.,  and  about 
2.30  P.  M.    It  appears  from  this  experiment  that  the  amount  of  work 
done  is  increased  in  the  later  periods,  while  the  accuracy  decreased, 
but  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any  large  decrease  in  efficiency  due 
to  fatigue."**  Table  XV  shows  typical  results  from  one  school. 
TABLE  XIV.     SHOWING  ARRANGEMENT  OF  EIGHT  CHILDREN  AC- 
CORDING TO  THEIR  INNATE  ABILITY  IN  ADDITION   (B-TEST) 
AND   MULTIPLICATION    (BX-TEST)    AND   THE   TWO    SETS 
TAKEN  TOGETHER 


PERIODS 

9.00  A.  M. 

11.00  A.  M. 

1.30   P.  M. 

2.30  P.  M. 

AmcMint  done 
Accuracy 

100 
100 

100.72 
96.69 

103.63 
95.64 

101.10 
96.38 

The  real  problem  in  the  school-room  is  not  fatigue,  but  ennui,  lack 
of  interest.  As  Thorndike  has  repeatedly  affirmed,  children  have  too 
little  to  do  rather  than  too  much.  They  are  not  supplied  with  material 
to  keep  their  minds  and  bodies  busy.  Any  adult  who  has  attempted 
to  play  with  children  knows  how  impossible  it  is  to  tire  them  out. 
They  can  keep  on  the  jump  from  morning  to  night,  or  build  blocks, 
or  paste  in  a  scrap  book  as  assiduously  as  any  adult,  when  they 
v;ant  to. 

EXHAUSTION 

Fatigue  is  a  perfectly  normal  process.  It  may  be  defined, 
according  to  Thorndike,  as  "that  diminution  in  efficiency  which 
rest  will  cure."t  Exhaustion,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  loss  of  efficiency 
which  ordinary  rest  will  not  cure.  In  cases  of  exhaustion,  not  onl> 
is  the  glycogen  used  up,  but  also  part  of  the  muscular  structure  itself. 
In  consequence,  it  takes  a  comparatively  long  time  for  one  to  recover 
from  the  eflFects  of  exhausting  work. 

Exhaustion  is  present  in  the  case  of  many  persons  who  are  forced 
by  circumstances  to  work  harder  and  for  longer  hours  than  they  can 
really  stand.     Its   elimination   is  an  important   industrial   and   social 

•W.  H.  Heck.  A  Study  of  Mental  Fatigfue  in  Relation  to  the  Daily  School  Prorram. 
Psylchological  CUnlc,  Vol.   7.    1913-14,  pp.   29-34   and  258-260. 

••QuotationB  and  Table  XV  from  F.  N.  Freeman,  How  Children  Learn,  1917,  p.  289. 
tE.  L.  Thorndike.  Educational  Psycholovy,  Vol.  111.   1914,  p.   112. 


LESSON   38  209 

problem.  But  fear  of  exhaustion,  on  the  other  hand,  does  still  more 
harm,  for  it  prevents  men  and  women  from  exerting  themselves  as 
they  should  and  robs  them  of  the  success  they  might  otherwise  achieve. 
Aside  from  worry,  a  most  fatiguing  performance,  very  few  of  those 
directing  their  own  activities  ever  exhaust  themselves.  It  is  normal 
to  go  to  bed  fatigued.  Sufficient  sleep  should  cure  fatigue  and  fit 
us  for  another  strenuous  day.  Happy  is  the  man,  like  Roosevelt,  who 
finds  his  greatest  pleasure  in  activity. 

WHAT   IS   A  RESPONSE? 

The  term  "response"  has  meant  so  far  all  those  details  of  an 
mdividual's  action  which  result  from  some  situation  affecting  him. 
It  is  well  now  to  consider  the  term  in  greater  detail.  A  response 
consists  of  movements  of  muscles.  But  the  muscles  may  be  those 
that  (a)  move  parts  of  the  body,  as  the  arm,  leg,  head,  etc.,  or  (b) 
affect  the  internal  organs,  as  the  heart,  the  stomach,  the  various  glands, 
etc.  The  first  type  we  are  all  more  or  less  familiar  with,  since  we  are 
continually  and  consciously  making  such  movements  and  are  observing 
them  in  others.  The  second  type  we  are  not  conscious  of  ordinarily. 
But  they  play  an  equally  important  part  in  our  life.  In  the  quotation 
in  Lesson  i  from  "Wednesday  Madness,"  we  read  "Sam  started 
violently"  in  response  to  Penrod's  "Sam-my  and  May-bul."  And 
**Mabel  ceased  to  swing  her  foot,  and  both,  encamadined,  looked  up." 
The  "starting  violently"  and  becoming  "encarnadined"  are  evidences 
we  may  note  in  another  of  emotional  excitement  —  a  term  covering 
movements  of  the  inner  organs.  And  these  responses  are  more  sig- 
nificant in  this  case  than  "ceasing  to  swing  her  foot"  and  "looking  up." 

It  is  related  that  if  a  cat  is  quietly  eating  her  dinner  under  a  table 
and  sees  a  strange  dog  enter  the  room,  that  she  will  cease  eating,  her 
fur  will  stand  on  end,  her  tail  will  rise  erect,  she  will  crouch  and 
as-sume  the  best  possible  position  to  flee  or  fight  according  to  circum- 
stances. This  is  all  we  can  see  as  to  her  response  to  the  dog's  presence. 
But  careful  studies  have  shown  that  even  if  the  dog  leaves  the  rootn 
without  seeing  her  and  she  returns  to  eating  that  her  digestive  organs 
v.ill  not  resume  their  activity  for  15  to  20  minutes.  The  response 
to  the  dog's  presence  on  the  part  of  the  inner  musculature  was  to 
increase  the  heart's  action,  to  expand  the  breathing  area  of  the  lungs. 
to  constrict  the  blood  vessels  in  the  viscera  and  dilate  those  in  the 
muscles,  thus  driving  the  blood  into  circulation  between  heart,  lungs 
and  muscles,  to  affect  certain  glands  which  give  off  chemicals,  further 
increasing  the  above  effects  and  even  affecting  the  blood  so  if  the 
cat  is  wounded  the  blood  will  coagfulate  more  quickly,  etc.  And  these 
effects  do  not  immediately  cease  when  the  situation  changes. 


2IO  INTRODL'CTORY   PSYCHOLOGY    FOR   TEACHlvKS 

The  above  illustrates  what  takes  place  under  the  general  heading 
of  emotion.  Human  beings  are  affected  in  a  similar  manner.  And, 
apparently,  all  emotions  atfect  us  in  much  the  same  way,  whether  they 
be  of  fear  or  joy,  of  love  or  hate. 

In  selling,  for  example,  it  is  as  important  to  realize  that  the 
prospective  buyer  will  react  to  the  sales  talk  by  tones  of  voice,  expres- 
sion of  the  face  and  movements,  as  by  words  of  mouth.  And  such 
responses,  when  proporly  interpreted  by  the  salesman,  are  more 
helpful  in  determining  what  his  prospect  is  really  thinking  than  what 
he  says.  For  the  buyer  can  hardly  control  movements  showing  eager- 
ness or  irritation,  although  he  may  restrain  any  spoken  indication  of 
his  attitude. 

A  response  may  consist,  further,  in  a  train  of  thought,  in  the  formu- 
lation of  a  decision,  or  in  an  atiitude.  The  latter  we  sav/  clearly  in 
the  mirror-drawing  experiment,  where  some  assumed  a  self-attentive 
attitude  and  others  did  not.  But  such  purely  "mental"  responses  are 
accompanied  by  muscular  movements,  although  they  may  at  times 
l>o  very  slight  or  seemingly  of  no  connection  with  the  mental  processes. 
One  only  has  to  watch  carefully  a  person  who  pretends  to  be  con- 
temptuous of  one's  teasing  to  discover  slight  twitchings  at  the  corner 
of  the  mouth,  or  tapping  with  the  foot,  etc. — all  signs  that  the  teasing 
is  being  reacted  to. 

When  one  suddenly  comes  upon  a  covey  of  young  quail,  there  is 
immediately  a  tremendous  fluttering  in  the  brush  and  then  an  absolute 
quiet.  The  young  birds  have  reacted  to  the  situation  of  a  man's 
presence  by  running  to  cover  and  then  remaining  absolutely  still.  The 
lack  of  movement  is  as  much  a  part  of  the  response  as  the  scurrying 
to  cover.  Here  is  inhibition  of  movement  as  a  type  of  response. 
Careful  examination  of  the  young  birds  while  playing  'possum  would 
indicate  emotional  activity,  so  that  this  lack  of  movement  is  not 
complete  but  only  of  those  muscles  pertaining  to  movements  of  limbs 
and  body. 

In  every-day  life  we  are  much  more  likely  to  overlook  responses  to 
n  situation  which  cause  lack  of  bodily  movement  than  of  responses 
v.'here  the  individual  do's  something.  Sometimes  the  absence  of 
movement,  when  ordinarily  movement  is  to  be  expected,  is  just  the 
response  to  be  noted.  For  example,  candy  having  disappeared  from 
a  table  drawer,  three  children  are  suddenly  confronted  with  the 
ouestion,  "Who  took  the  candy?"  Two  chorus  out  "Not  me!  What 
candy?"  The  third,  after  ten  seconds,  in  a  more  subdued  voice, 
responds  "Not  me."     The  temporarily  inhibited  reply  and  the  entire 


LESSON  39  211 

absence  of  interest  in  "what  candy"  clearly  prove  the  presence  of 
important  elements  in  the  situation  to  which  the  third  child  is  responding 
tl'at  are  absent  in  the  case  of  the  other  two. 

Interference  between  two  responses  to  the  same  situation  is  some- 
times the  cause  of  no  response  to  a  situation.  For  example,  as  in 
Lesson  17,  an  individual  might  have  responded  to  the  letter  "m"  by 
the  numeral  "47,"  since  "m"  was  shown  with  "47"  three  times.  But  if 
"m"  had  also  been  shown  with  "12,"  this  same  individual  would  quite 
likely  make  no  response  to  the  letter  "m."  Closer  observation  of  him 
would  have  shown  signs  of  irritation,  for  failure  to  respond  due  to 
interference  of  bonds  is  usually  accompanied  by  emotional  disturbance. 

The  response  is  the  sum  total  of  the  behavior  brought  about  hv  a 
situation  affecting  an  individual.  It  includes  movements  produced  by 
the  large  muscles  of  the  body  or  of  the  small  muscles  within  the  body, 
and  the  total  of  consciousness  involved  therein. 

RIvFERIvN'CES 

W.  H.  Howell,  A  Text-book  of  Physiology,  1907,  Chaps.  I  and  11. 
Ladd  and  Woodworth,  Physiological  Psychology,  191 1,  pp.  536-541. 
P.  C.  Stiles,  The  Nen'ous  System  and  Its  Conservation,  1914. 

LESSON  39.     HOW  DOES  ONE  ESTIMATE  DISTANCE? 

In  Lesson  ^y  we  discovered  that  the  visual  impressions  received  by 
the  two  eyes  are  not  identical.  And  the  same  fact  was  discovered 
concerning  two  sterescopic  pictures.  Moreover,  we  ascertained  that 
there  was  a  greater  difference  between  those  details  of  pictures  which 
were  in  the  foreground  than  between  those  in  the  background.  Depth 
or  perspective  is  clearly  added  to  a  picture  when  two  views  thus  con- 
structed are  seen  together.     How  is  this  accomplished? 

The  two  eyes  must  rotate  more  (converge)  when  fixated  on  a  near 
object  than  on  a  distant  object.  From  experience,  we  have  learned 
v/hen  we  fixate  on  a  string  attached  to  a  window  curtain  that  (a)  it 
is  this  string  (not  some  other  object)  and  (b)  it  is  about  so  far  from 
us.  The  object  aspect  of  the  response  is  due  to  stimulation  of  the 
retina  by  waves  of  light  from  the  string,  which  in  turn  transmits  a 
stimulation  over  the  optic  nerve  to  the  brain.  The  distance  aspect  is 
due  to  the  kinaesthetic  sense-organs  in  the  muscles  that  rotate  the  eye 
in  order  to  fixate  it  on  the  string.  They  are  stimulated  to  a  certain 
extent  and  this  stimulation  is  also  transmitted  over  the  nerve  to  the 
brain.  There  these  particular  stimulations  cause  us  quite  unconsciously 
to  add  to  the  object- aspect  the  idea  of  the  string  being  located  so  far 
from  us.  The  total  perception — string  so  far  from  us — is  a  fusion, 
then,  of  visual  and  kinaesthetic  stimulations. 


212  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

Photographs  taken  for  a  stereoscope  are  taken  by  two  cameras 
placed  side  by  side  but  somewhat  farther  apart  than  the  distance 
between  the  two  eyes.  The  photographs  over-emphasize  the  dif- 
ference in  the  two  views  as  seen  by  the  two  eyes.  When  placed  in  a 
stereoscope,  one  must  converge  his  eyes  more  in  order  to  have  both 
eyes  fixated  on  near  objects  than  on  distant  objects  in  the  two  pictures. 
Consequently,  we  think  (^f  them  as  nearer  because  always  in  life  when 
we  have  to  converge  our  eyes  upon  an  object  it  is  nearer  than  an  object 
which  requires  less  convergence. 

The  above  is  the  explanation  of  how  in  binocular  vision  we  deter- 
mine distances  up  to  loo  feet.  At  loo  feet  the  eyes  are  both  fixated 
straight  ahead.  Consequently  there  can  be  no  greater  divergence  for 
objects  beyond  this  distance  than  for  lOO  feet  and,  accordingly,  we 
can  not  estimate  distances  beyond  this  distance  on  the  basis  of 
convergence  and  divergence. 

Now  how  do  we  estimate  distance  up  to  6  feet  with  monocular 
vision,  and,  second,  how  do  we  estimate  distance  beyond  lOO  feet? 
It  is  perfectly  apparent  that  we  can  do  both  these  things. 

EXPERIMENT 

Problem:  What  are  the  Factors  Underlying  the  Perception  of 
Distance?     (Continued.) 

Apparatus.    Three  pins. 

Procedure : 

(i)  Have  S  close  one  eye  and  then  have  him  note  the  changes 
that  occur  in  the  appearance  of  a  pencil  and  the  resulting  sensations 
in  the  eye  as  E  moves  a  pencil  towards  and  away  from  the  eye  within 
the  limits  of  an  inch  and  six  feet.  Is  S  ever  at  a  loss  to  know  just 
iiow  far  the  pencil  is  from  him? 

(2)  In  order  to  determine  how  accurate  is  S's  ability  to  estimate 
relative  distances,  stick  two  pins  into  the  far  end  of  a  table,  say  six 
feet  from  S.  The  line  of  the  two  pins  should  be  perpendicular  to  S's 
line  of  vision.  Now  place  the  third  pin  between  the  other  two  some- 
times in  front  of  them  and  sometimes  behind  them  and  ascertain  how 
accurately  S  can  determine  the  relative  distance  of  the  middle  pin 
as  compared  with  the  two  outside  pins.  When  this  has  been  done, 
repeat  the  experiment,  S  using  only  one  eye. 

Just  as  a  camera  has  to  be  adjusted  for  focusing  on  near  and  distant 
objects,  so  the  lens  of  the  eye  has  to  be  correspondingly  adjusted. 
As  has  been  pointed  out  in  Lesson  36,  these  adjustments  are  made 
by  contractions  or  relaxations  of  the  ciliary  muscle  which  is  attached 
to  the  lens.  Located  in  and  about  the  ciliary  muscle  are  kinaesthetic 
sense-organs.     Ordinarily    we    are     unconscious    of    the     sensations 


LESSON  40  213 

aroused  by  these  sense-organs.  But  when  the  pencil  is  broughi  clo>e 
to  the  eye,  the  strain  in  the  ciliary  muscle,  in  order  to  secure  a  clear 
focus,  is  so  unusual  that  we  notice  it.  Altho  we  are  not  ordinarily 
conscious  of  the  kinaesthetic  sensations  caused  by  movements  in  the 
ciliary  muscles,  yet  we  act  in  terms  of  them.  That  is,  thru  experience 
we  have  learned  that  when  the  eyes  are  focused  on  a  very  near  object, 
the  ciliary  muscle  is  under  a  certain  strain,  whereas  when  the  object 
is  farther  away  this  strain  is  different.  Consequently  when  confronted 
by  an  object,  the  first  reaction  is  to  focus  it  on  the  retina  (a  reflex  act 
unconsciously  done).  We  then  receive  (a)  visual  stimulations  from 
the  object  which  give  us  our  knowledge  of  the  object  and  (b)  kinaes- 
tlietic  stimulations  from  the  ciliary  muscle  which  give  us  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  distance  of  the  object  from  the  eye.  Rather  the  two — 
visual  and  kinaesthetic  —  sensations  fuse  together  and  we  perceive 
such  and  such  an  object  at  such  and  such  a  distance.  The  above 
mechanism  is  an  aid  to  us  in  estimating  short  distances  of  say  six  feet 
and  less. 

(3)  Can  an  individual  blind  in  one  eye  utilize  the  factors  involved 
in  binocular  vision  in  estimating  distance?  Recall  the  details  dis- 
covered in  Lesson  37,  part  2,  with  the  books  C  and  D.  Note  also  in 
the  same  way,  but  with  one  eye,  the  differences  in  the  view  of  book  D 
obtained  by  swinging  the  head  from  side  to  side. 

Repeat  the  above  procedure,  but,  instead  of  moving  the  head  from 
side  to  side,  walk  from  your  window  to  the  next  and  note  such  changes 
as  may  occur  in  the  view  of  objects  at  a  considerable  distance  from  you. 

(4)  Finish  up  your  study  of  the  other  factors  involved  in  the 
e.stimation  of  the  distance  of  objects  over  100  feet  away. 

Results:  Report  your  results  in  the  best  way  you  know  to  bring  out 
the  principal  points  of  the  experiment. 

Questions:  (i)  In  what  way  does  one  estimate  distances  up  to 
six  feet? 

(2)  In  what  way  does  one  estimate  distances  of  from  6  to  100  feet? 

(3)  In  what  way  does  one  estimate  distances  over  100  feet?  Con- 
sider also  the  followinj:^  questions  in  this  connection : 

a.  If  one  did  not  know  the  size  of  an  object,  say  a  low  hill,  would 
that  affect  his  estimation  of  its  distance?     Why?     Explain. 

b.  Is  the  same  distance  estimated  differently  on  a  foggy  dav 
from  what  it  is  on  a  dear  one?  Why  do  Easterners  underestimate 
distance  in  Colorado? 

C.  Do  differences  in  color  affect  the  estimation  of  distance? 
How?     Why? 


214  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

d.     \\  hich  is  easier  to  estimate  the  distance  of,  (a)  a  man  walking;- 

along  a  road,  (b)  an  auto,  (c)  a  train  along  a  railroad  track,  or 

(d)  an  aeroplane  in  the  air?    Why?    How  is  the  estimation  made? 
e.  What  part  can  a  shadow  play  in  the  estimation  of  distance? 

Application: 

Write  up  your  experiment  and  hand  it  in  at  the  next  class-hour. 

REFERENCES 

G.  M.  Stratton,  Experimental  Psychology  and  Culture,  1903, 
Chapters  VII,  VIII. 

W.  B,  Pillsbury,  Attention,  1908,  Chapter  V. 

J,  R.  Angell,  Psychology,  1908,  pp.  172-190. 

E.  B.  Titchener,  Experimental  Psychology,  Qualitative,  Student's 
Manual,  1909,  pp.  137-151. 

E.  B.  Titchener,  Experimental  Psychology,  Qualitative,  Instructor's 
Manual,  1909,  pp.  228-303. 

W.  B.  Pillsbury.  Essentials  of  Psychology,  191 1,  pp.  162-171, 

G.  T.  Ladd  and  R.  S.  Woodworth,  Physiological  Psychology,  191 1, 

pp.  413-431- 

It  is  not  necessary,  nor  is  it  expected  of  students,  to  consult  these 
references  in  writing  up  the  experiment.  They  are  listed  here  for  the 
use  of  any  who  are  interested  and  wish  to  devote  extra  time  to  the 
subject. 


LESSON    40.--THE    MECHANISM    OF    THE    CONNECTING 
SYSTEM.    THE  NERVOUS  SYSTEM* 

We  now  have  a  fair  conception  of  how  a  sense-organ  is  stimulated 
into  activity  by  outside  agencies.  We  also  realize  that  when  a  muscle 
or  a  group  of  muscles  is  stimulated,  it  contracts  and  moves  a  portion 
of  the  body.  And,  from  the  illustrations  given  in  Plates  XXX  and 
XXXI,  we  have  obtained  a  general  notion  as  to  how  the  stimulation 
received  in  the  sense-organ  is  finally  transmitted  to  the  muscles  and 
they  in  turn  react.  In  those  three  examples  we  have  cases  in  which 
the  current  flows  from  the  skin  to  the  muscle  (a)  by  way  of  the 
spinal  cord,  (b)  by  way  of  the  mid-brain,  and  (c)  by  way  of  the 
cortex  of  the  brain.  About  these  three  examples  we  can  build  a  great 
deal  of  the  total  conception  that  is  necessary  in  understanding  the 
connecting-  system. 

The  first  three  points  to  get  clear  in  understanding  the  nervous 
system  are :  First,  sense-organs  are  connected  unth  muscles  by  way 
cf  a  central  station  in  the  spinal  cord,  mid-brain,  or  cerebrum. 
Second,  the  nervous  system  is  made  tip  of  these  three  centrals  together 
with  nerve-fibres  running  to  the  sense-organs  and  to  the  muscles  of 
the  body.  Third,  the  function  of  the  nervous  system  is  to  connect 
sense-organs  tvith  muscles. 

In  order  to  obtain  a  clearer,  more  accurate  conception  of  the  con- 
nections which  are  made  possible  by  the  nervous  system,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  obtain  a  better  notion  of  the  anatomy  of  the  nervous 
system. 

THE   NEURONE 

The  nervous  system  can  be  roughly  divided  into  four  parts :  ( i ) 
The  spinal  cord,  (2)  the  mid-brain,  (3)  the  cerebrum,  and  (4)  the 
i^erves  that  connect  these  parts  with  sense-organs  and  muscles.  .\11 
of  these  four  parts  are  composed  of  something  like  11,000,000,000 
nerve-cells  combined  in  various  ways. 

The  neurone.  In  Plate  XXXIV  are  shown  six  different  nerve - 
cells  or  neurones  as  they  are  more  often  called.  At  first  glance  they 
do  not  look  much  alike.  A  closer  study  will  show  that  they  all  have 
certain  characteristics  in  common.  Each  nerve-cell  has  ( i )  a  cell-body 
and  (2)  certain  projections  from  the  cell-body  called  filaments.  The 
cell-bodv  is  compo.sed  of  protoplasm  and  has  a  nucleus.    The  filaments 


•CLASS-HOUP 

IN  CLASS              1 

WRITE-UP 

-    ■'■ 

READ 

40 
41 
42 
43 
44 

Discuss,   Les.   38,   39 
Discuss,  Les.  40 
Discuss,  Les.  41 

Review.     Les.     34-41 
Examination 

Lesson  40 

Lesson  4  t 

Review,     Les.     34  41 

Review 

1 

M5 


2l6  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

can  be  divided  into  two  kinds :  the  axon  and  the  dendrites.  A  nerve- 
cell  has  one  axon  but  it  may  have  many  dendrites.  The  axon  can  be 
likened  to  a  cable  of  telephone  wires.  It  is  made  up  of  many  fibrils 
similar  possibly  to  the  separate  wires  in  the  cable.  Around  these  are 
one  or  two  sheaths,  possibly  of  an  insulating  character  but  more 
probably  for  the  puriX)se  of  supporting  and  nourishing  the  fibril  core. 
Axons  may  be  infinitesimally  short  or  up  to  five  feet  in  length  in  man. 
Ordinarily  they  have  few  subdivisions.  A  bundle  of  such  axons  make 
up  a  nerve.  The  other  type  of  filament,  the  dendrite,  is  usually  quite 
short  and  much  branched,  often  suggesting  a  bush. 

The  neurone  has  certain  characteristics  in  common  with  all  living 
cells.  It  is  irritable,  by  which  is  meant  that  it  responds  to  certain 
stimulations.  It  {)ossesses  conductivity,  by  which  is  meant  that  a 
stimulation  at  one  point  of  its  body  is  transmitted  to  any  other  part 
of  its  body.  Besides  these  two,  it  probably  has  also  the  function  of 
either  reinforcing  or  inhibiting  the  impulse  communicated  to  it.  To 
illustrate  the  reinforcing  function,  consider  the  fact  that  a  relatively 
slight  pull  on  the  trigger  of  a  gun  will  produce  a  relatively  great 
response.  The  stored-up  energy  in  the  cartridge  is  set  off  at  the 
slight  impact.  In  somewhat  the  same  way  a  nerve-cell  may  be  only 
slightly  stimulated  but  it  may  respond  in  such  a  way  as  to  stimulate 
verv  much  more  stroni^ly  the  next  cell  in  the  series.  The  neurone  as 
a  whole  then  receives  and  transmits  stinnilations  and  in  doing  so  may 
increase  or  decrease  the  intensity  of  the  stimulation. 

Turning  now  to  the  functions  of  the  various  parts  of  the  neurone, 
we  must  note  that  '"the  cell-body  has  the  highly  important  function  of 
serving  the  nutrition  of  the  whole  neurone ;  it  is  necessary  for  main- 
taining the  axon  and  dendrites  in  proper  condition  for  work,  even  tho 
it  may  take  no  peculiar  part  in  the  actual  doing  of  the  work."* 

The  axon  carries  impulses  away  from  the  cell-body,  while  the  den- 
drites receive  impulses  from  without  and  transmit  the  stimulation 
toward  the  axon.  In  thinking  of  the  neurone  as  a  link  in  the  chain 
connecting  a  sense-organ*  and  muscle,  we  must  always  think  of  the 
current  first  stimulating  the  end  of  a  dendrite  and  of  it  then  being 
transmitted  over  the  dendrite  to  the  axon  and  out  the  axon.  The 
nervous  current  never  flows  in  the  reverse  direction.f 

THE    SYNAPSE 

The  sytiapse  is  the  point  of  contact  between  an  axon  and  a  dendrite. 
It  is  still  a  debated  question  whether  there  is  actually  a  gap  between 
the  axon  and  dendrite  or  not.  but  it  is  certain  that  as  far  as  their 

•  Ladd  and  Woodworth,   Physiological   Psychology,    1911,  p.   288. 

tThe  aboTe  is  true  except  in  the  case  of  the  sensory  neurones  connecting  sense- 
organs  with  the  spinal  cord.  Here  the  axon  on  leaving  the  cell-body  divides  and  one 
branch   goes   to  the   sense-organ   and   the  other  into   the   spinal   cord. 


LESSON  40 


217 


function  is  concerned  we  may  speak  of  the  synaj^se  as  a  functional  gap. 
From  physics  we  know  that  a  weak  electrical  current  will  jump  across 
a  small  gap  in  the  form  of  a  series  of  small  sparks,  but  it  will  not  jump 
a  large  gap.  If  the  strength  of  the  current  is  increased,  the  current 
will  again  jump  the  larger  gap  in  a  series  of  larger  sparks.  The 
smaller  the  gap,  then,  the  less  the  resistance  and  consequently  the 
smaller  the  current  needed  to  jump  the  gap.  This  conception  was 
early  applied  to  the  synapse.  It  was  supposed  that  the  dendrite  and 
axon  actually  moved  toward  or  away  from  each  other  and  in  doing 


Plat*  XXXIV.  A  cell  from  th«  spinal  ganglion;  B,  cell  from  the  ventral  horn  of 
•pinal  cord;  C,  cell  from  the  sympathetic,  D,  cell  from  the  spinal  cord;  E,  pyramidal  cell 
from  the  cerebral  cortex;  F,  cell  from  the  cerebellar  cortex;  a,  axones;  d,  dendrite*; 
c,  collaterals;  p.  peripheral  part  of  the  fibre;  cl,  central  part.  Arrows  indicate  the 
direction  of  conduction  for  nervous  impulses.  (Modified  from  Morris  and  from  Toldt. ) 
(From  J.   R.   Augell.   Psychology,    1909.    Figure   2). 

so  decreased  or  increased  the  resistance  to  the  nervous  current.  This 
physical  conception  has  been  discarded  and  in  its  place  is  now  a 
chemical  one.  Due  to  chemical  changes  in  the  dendrite  and  axon,  the 
resistance  is  changed. 

It  is  a  well-attested  fact  that  the  nervous  current  flows  over  an 
axon  at  about  the  rate  of  loo  feet  per  second,  or  approximately  an 
inch  in  0.0008  second.     But  it  requires  0.004  second  for  the  current 


2l8  INTRODL'CTOKY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

tc  cross  a  synapse,  an  extremely  short  distance.  This  rate  across  a 
synapse  is,  moreover,  for  a  well  used  synapse.  It  is  quite  likely  that 
the  rate  is  much  slower  for  a  little  used  synapse.* 

Modern  psycholog\-  makes  much  of  the  synapse  with  its  great  re- 
sistance to  the  passage  of  the  nerve  impulse,  together  with  its  changing 
resistance,  in  explaining  the  formation  of  habits.  A  habit  or  memory 
is  today  conceived  of  as  due  primarily  to  the  chemical  change  in  the 
synapse  whereby  the  resistance  is  lowered,  thus  permitting  the  nervous 
current  to  flow  in  this  particular  direction  rather  than  in  some  other 
(direction.  (Review  here  the  discussion  in  Lesson  i6  under  the  heading 
"Physiological  Basis  for  Retention.") 

FUNCTIONING  OF  THE   NERVOUS  SYSTEM. 

By  this  time  it  should  be  clear  that  all  kinds  of  behavior  are  essen- 
tially composed  of  one  or  more  sense-organs  and  one  or  more  muscles, 
with  their  connecting  neurones.  In  some  cases  the  sensory  neurone 
directly  stimulates  the  motor  neurone,  in  other  cases  many  neurones 
are  interposed  between  the  two.  We  may  then  divide  up  all  action  of 
man  on  the  basis  of  these  interposing  neurones.  Very  roughly  speak- 
ing we  can  speak  of  three  levels : — 

(i)  Connection  thru  the  spinal  cord. 

(2)  Connection  thru  the  mid-brain. 

(3)  Connection  thru  the  cerebrum. 

The  three  levels  differ  primarily  in  the  directness  with  which  the 
transfer  is  made :  the  higher  paths  permit  more  connections  and  make 
possible  the  cooperation  of  a  greater  number  of  sensory  impulses  in 
the  control  of  movement. 

The  Lozver  Level — Spinal  Level,  (See  Plates  XXX  and  XXXLj 
An  essential  trait  of  the  lower  level  has  already  been  repeatedly 
pointed  out,  i.  e.,  a  direct  stimulation  from  the  sense-organ  results  in 
an  immediate  response  by  an  appropriate  muscle.  Examples  of  such 
reflexes  are:  (i)  jerking  the  hand  away  from  a  hot  stove,  (2)  with- 
drawing the  part  from  tickling,  etc.  In  reflexes  we  have  the  result- 
ing proper  action,  because  our  nervous  system  has  been  developed 
thru  ages  of  experience  to  act  this  way.  In  other  words,  we  do  not 
learn  reflexes ;  they  are  organized  naturally,  just  as  hair  grows  on  our 
head  naturally,  or  teeth  appear  in  our  mouth. 

Thus  far  we  have  con?.idered  the  simplest  form  of  reflex  act — due 
to  the  union  of  one  sensory  neurone  and  one  motor  neurone.  But  we 
may  have  reflexes  in  the  spinal  cord  where  a  few  or  many  connect- 
ing neurones  intervene  between  the  sensory  and  motor  neurones.  If 
one  destroys  the  brain  of  a  frog  it  will  be  seen  that  all  the  customary 

•A.  T.  Poffenberger,  Reaction  Time  to  Retinal  Stimulation,  Archives  of  Psychol- 
ogy.   1912,  Chap.   VI!. 


m;ss()n  41 


219 


reflexes  may  be  called  out  by  appropriate  stimuli.  If  a  bit  of  paper 
moistened  with  acid  be  placed  upon  the  left  foot  of  a  frog:  (i)  the 
leg  will  be  drawn  up — a  simple  reflex.  If  now  the  foot  be  held  so 
that  it  cannot  be  moved,  it  will  be  found  that  (2)  the  other  foot  is 
brought  over  to  remove  the  stimulus.  If  this  is  not  successful,  (3)  the 
muscles  of  the  forelegs  and  trunk  will  contract  and  the  contractions 
will  continue  until  the  stimulus  is  removed  or  the  organism  becomes 
exhausted.  (The  same  phenomenon  can  l^e  obtained  thru  tickling  a 
person  who  is  asleep.)  What  has  happened  in  all  these  cases?  In 
Plate  XXXV  is  shown  very  roughly  the  organization  of  the  neurones 
involved  in  such  cases.  In  the  first  case  the  current  travels  from  S 
(the  sensory  neurone)  to  M,  a  motor  neurone.  With  continued  stim- 
ulation received  via  S  more  and  more  motor  neurones  are  brought 
into  play,  as  M2,  M3,  M4,  M5,  etc.  What  is  much  more  likely  to 
happen  is  depicted  in  the  right  hand  part  of  the  Plate  where  an  inter- 


Plate  XXXV.    Shov/ing  how  a  sensory  neurone   (S)  n.ay  be 
connected  directly  with  various  motor  nouronea    (M) 
or  indirectly  bv  means   of  connecting  or  Intermedi- 
ate neurones    (G).   i'rorn   J.    B.    Lickley,    Tne  Ilervous 
System.   132  2,  p  40. 

mediate  or  connecting  neurone   (C)    is  included.     Here  the  current 
travels  from  S  to  C  and  then  to  Mi,  or  M2,  M3,  etc. 

Now  why  have  there  been  these  changes  in  response  ?  We  must  sup- 
pose that  continued  stimulations  result  in  an  increase  in  the  nervous 
current  which  is  generated.  With  a  slight  amount  of  current  the  flow 
is  over  the  most  usual  jiathway  because  of  less  resistance  at  the 
synapse.  When  that  pathway  is  blocked,  the  next  easiest  pathway  is 
used.  And  with  greater  and  greater  amounts  of  nervous  current  com- 
ing in  over  the  sensory  fibre,  greater  and  greater  resistance  can  be 
overcome,  resulting  in  more  and  more  widely  separated  motor  cells 
being  stimulated — hence  in  more  and  more  extended  muscular  con- 


220  INTRODUCTORY  PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

tractions.     (Review    at    this    point    the    conception  of  "overflow    of 
energy"  given  in  Lesson  19.) 

The  Intermediate  Level — Mid-Brain  Level.  The  mid-brain,  or 
brain-stem,  is  the  upper  end  of  the  spinal  cord.  In  this 
elementary  course  it  is  impossible  to  consider  the  parts  of  the  mid- 
brain separately,  and  so  all  of  them  will  be  considered  to- 
gether. Their  functions  are  very  complex,  but  after  all  they  may  be 
reduced  to  the  same  ones  which  appear  in  the  spinal  cord,  i.  e.,  con- 
necting sense-organs  with  muscles,  and  more  particularly  connecting 
impressions  from  many  sense-organs  together  so  as  to  have  the  most 
appropriate  muscular  response  to  all  the  sense-organ  impressions. 
The  functions  of  the  mid-brain  are: — (i)  to  serve  as  reflex  centers  by 
which  the  sense-organs  of  the  head  may  be  connected  with  the  muscles 
of  the  head.  To  illustrate,  note  these  examples.  According  to  the 
amount  of  light  striking  the  eye,  the  pupil  is  wide  open  or  shut.  These 

movements  of  the  pupil  result  from  stimulations  from  the  retina  going 
t.  the  mid-brain  and  back  again  to  the  muscles  governing  the  pupil.  In 
the  same  way  most  of  the  movements  of  the  eyes  are  governed  from  the 
mid-brain.  The  medulla,  a  part  of  the  mid^brain,  receives  organic 
stimulations  from  the  various  parts  of  the  body  and  in  turn  stimulates 
the  muscles  of  the  heart,  blood-vessels,  etc.,  so  as  to  control  the  rate 
and  force  of  the  heart-beat,  the  diameter  of  the  blood-vessels,  etc.  The 
function  of  the  mid-brain  is  (2)  to  connect  the  special  sense  organs  of 
the  head  with  the  motor  neurones  of  the  spinal-cord,  and  so  with  the 
muscles  of  the  trunk  and  limbs.  For  example :  putting  the  hand  up  to 
protect  the  face,  jumping  at  a  loud  noise,  kicking  backward  as  the  re- 
sult ©f  a  blow  on  the  head  from  behind.  (3)  to  connect  the  cortex  of 
the  brain  with  sense-organs  and  with  muscles.  It  is  probable  that  all 
the  sense-organs  excepting  smell,  are  represented  in  the  mid-brain  by 
neurones,  and  that  in  every  case  the  impulse  from  a  sense-organ  is  re- 
layed from  neurone  to  neurone  in  various  ganglia  in  the  mid-brain.  The 
mechanism  of  the  reflexes  in  this  level  is  then  the  same  as  in  the  lower 
level.  The  only  difference  is  that  the  causes  of  excitation  are  more 
numerous  and  the  possibilities  of  connection  are  greater. 

REFERENCES 

(i)  Concerning  the  nen'ous  system  primarily. 

W.  H.  Howell,  Text-book  of  Physiology.  1907.  Chps.  Ill,  VII  to  XL 

W.  McDougall,  Physiological  Psychology,  1908. 

J.  R.  Angell,  Psychology,  1909,  Chap.  II 

G.  T.  Ladd  &  R.  S.  Woodworth,  Physiological  Psychology,   191 1 
Chaps.  I  to  VII,  IX,  X. 


LESSON  41  221 

VV.  B.  Pillsbury,  Essentials  of  Psychology,  191 1,  Chap.  II. 

J.  D.  Lickley,  The  Nervous  System,  1912. 

P.  G.  Stiles,  The  Nervous  System  and  its  Conservation,  1914. 

(2)  More  general  references. 

E.  L.  Thorndike,   Educational  Psychology,  191 4,  3  volumes. 

J.  R.  Angell,  Chapters  from  Modern  Psychology,  191 5,  Lesson  II. 

G.  W.  Crile,  Man — An  Adaptive  Mechanism,  1916. 

J.  B.  Watson,  Behavior,  191 7. 

ASSIGNMENT 

The  next  laboratory  hour  (Lesson  41)  will  be  devoted  to  a  discussion 
of  this  Lesson. 

LESSON  41.     THE  NERVOUS  SYSTEM  OF  MAN  (Cont'd) 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  nerve  action  can  be  roughly 
divided  into  three  parts  : 

( 1 )  Spinal  level — connection  is  made  in  the  spinal  cord. 

(2)  Intermediate  level — connection  is  made  in  the  mid-brain. 

(3)  Cortical  level — connection  is  made  in  the  cerebrum. 

The  first  two  have  already  been  discussed  in  Lesson  40.  We  are 
consequently  ready  to  consider  the  third  level. 

THE  CEREBELLUM.  . 

See  Cb  of  Plate  XXXVI,  and  the  smaller  body  just  above  "TA"  in 
Plate  XXXVII  for  the  location  of  the  cerebellum.  The  cerebellum  be- 
longs to  the  mid-brain  level  from  its  jx>sition,  but  because  of  its  cortical 
structure  it  may  be  considered  here.  It  is  very  richly  connected  by 
neurones  with  the  lower  centers  and  with  the  cerebrum.  But  we  know 
very  little  about  its  functions.  However,  it  seems  to  be  agreed  that  its 
functions  are  most  intimately  related  to  the  reception  and  coordination 
of  the  senory  stimulations  which  originate  zvithin  the  body  itself,  e.  g., 
i  ■»  the  muscles,  the  viscera,  the  semi-circular  canals  of  the  ear,  etc.  It 
is  thus  conspicuously  involved  in  such  actions  as  those  by  which  we  pre- 
serve our  equilibrium  and  in  general  succeed  in  carrying  forward  well 
coordinated  and  balanced  movements,  like  walking,  sitting,  and  stand- 
ing. 

THE  CEREBRUM 

Many  stimulations  from  sense-organs  are  relayed  in  to  the  cerebrum, 
are  there  combined  into  an  organized  whole  and  then  relayed  out  to 
the  muscles  resulting  in  coordinated  movements  in  harmony  with  the 
stimulations  received  by  the  sense-organs.  The  activity  may  be  likened 
tc  the  army  organization.  Information  is  obtained  by  the  soldiers  an-i 
lower  officers  while  on  scouting  duty.    This  information  is  transmitted 


222 


INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR   TUACHEiRS 


up  thru  the  various  officers  until  it  finally  reaches  the  commanding  offi- 
cers. These  officers,  in  turn,  tranmit  orders  back  down  thru  the  various 
officers  until  finally  the  soldiers  execute  them.  A  general  ordinarily 
neither  receives  information  from  a  private  nor  gives  him  cominanands. 
So  with  the  brain,  it  never  receives   stimulations  directly   from  the 


Plate  XXXVl.  The  figure  nt  the  left  shows  the  general  relations  of  the  central 
nervous  system  to  the  bones  of  the  skull  and  spine.  The  figure  at  the  right  displays 
the  general  contours  of  the  central  system  as  seen  from  in  front.  The  great  ganglionated- 
cord  of  the  sympathetic  system  is  shown  attached  to  one  side  of  the  spinal  nerves; 
the  other  side  has  been  cut  away.  (Cer)  the  cerebral  hemispheres;  (O)  the  olfactory 
centers;  (P)  the  pons  Varolii;  (M)  the  medulla  oblangata;  (Cb)  the  cerebeDum;  (Sp.  C) 
the  spinal  cord;  (I)  the  olfactory  nerve;  (II)  the  optic  nerve;  (III)  the  oculo-motor 
nerve;  (IV)  the  trochlear  nerve;  (V)  the  trigeminus  nerve;  (VI)  abducens  nerve; 
(VII)  the  facial  nerve;  (VIII)  the  auditory  nerve;  (IX)  glossopharyngeal  nerve;  (X) 
the  vagus  nerve;  (XI)  spinal  accessory;  (XII)  the  hypoglossal  nerve;  (C)  the  first  cer- 
vical spinal  nerve;  (Dl)  the  first  dorsal,  or  thoracic  nerve;  (LI)  the  first  lumbar 
nerve;  (SI)  the  first  sacral  nerve;  (XI)  filum  terminate;  (CSI)  superior  cervical  gang- 
lion of  the  sympathetic;  (CS2)  middle  cervical  ganglion  of  the  sympathetic;  (CS3)  and 
(DSI)  junction  of  the  inferior  cervical  and  the  first  dorsal  ganglion  of  the  sympa- 
thetic; (DSII)  the  eleventh  dorsal  ganglion  of  the  sympathetic;  (LSI)  the  first  lumbar 
ganglion  of  the  same  system;  (SSI)  the  first  sacral  ganglion  also  of  the  sympathetic. 
From  J.  R.  Angell   "Psychology,"   1909.    (Figures    12   and    13.) 

sense-organs  (excepting  smell)  nor  directly  stimulates  muscles  to 
move.  The  lower  and  intermediate  levels  of  activity  stand  in  between. 
Consider  another  illustration.  The  problem  673  x  48  is  given  one  to 
solve.  Light  waves  from  the  paper  containing  the  problem  strike  the 
retina.  The  physical  stimulation  is  changed  into  a  physiological  proc- 


LESSON   41 


221 


ess  which  is  transmitted  over  the  optic  nerve  to  the  mid-brain.  Here 
part  of  the  stimulation  is  directed  to  muscles  controlling:  the  eye  and 
head  and  they  so  move  as  to  permit  one  to  see  the  problem  in  the  best 
light,  etc.  The  remainder  of  the  stimulation  is  relayed  to  the  cortex 
of  the  brain.  Due  to  long  established  habits  the  stimulation  is  then 
sent  from  the  cortex  back  thru  the  mid-brain  down  the  spinal  cord  and 
to  muscles  of  the  arm  and  I  find  myself  reaching  for  pencil  and  paper 
and  solving  the  problem. 

It  is  probable  that  only  connections  made  in  the  cerebrum  are  con- 
scious.   That  is,  consciousness  accompanies  only  cortical  activity. 


Plate  XXXVII.  "Localization  of  Cerebral  Function.  The  lower  figure  shows  the  outer 
surface  of  the  right  hemisphere;  the  upper,  the  mesial  surface  of  the  le€t  hemisphere. 
In  both  figures  the  motor  areas  are  marked  by  horizontal  shading,  the  sensory  by  ver- 
tical shading,  while  the  associatory  areas  are  unshaded.  The  doubtful  or  partially  se«- 
sory  or  motor  areas  are  indicated  by  dots.  (S)  is  opposite  the  fissure  of  Sylvius;  (R) 
above  the  fissure  of  Rolando.  (M)  is  above  the  motor  region;  (C)  above  the  cutaneous 
and  kineasthetic  area.  (V)  indicates  the  visual  region;  (O)  is  below  the  olfactory  re- 
gion. The  auditory  region  is  just  below  the  fissure  of  Sylvius,  above  (H).  (FA)  desig- 
nates the  frontal,  (PA)  parietal,  and  (TA)  the  temporal  association  centers.  There  is 
some  evidence  that  the  dotted  regions  about  the  sensory  and  motor  areas  are  areas  in 
which  particular  associations  are  formed  with  them.  The  diagram  embodies  the  results 
of  A.  W.  Campbell,  but  has  been  modified  in  one  or  two  respects  to  agree  >vith  the 
results  of  Flechsig  and  Cushing."  (From  W.  B.  Pillsbury,  "The  Essential  of  Psychol- 
ogy,  1911,  Figure   7,  published  by  the  Macmillan  Company.) 


224  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACH EUS 

The  cerebrum  is  comiX)sed  of  two  hemispheres  joined  together  by 
what  is  called  the  corpus  callosum.  This  is  shown  in  Plate  XXXVII 
as  a  sort  of  crescent  shaped  area  in  the  center  of  the  upper  illustration. 
This  represents  the  cut-end  of  the  callosum  as  it  must  need  be  severed 
in  order  to  show  the  inner  surface  of  one  of  the  hemispheres.  It  is  made 
up  of  fibres  which  connect  one  hemisphere  with  the  other.  Two  land- 
marks need  to  be  pointed  out :  the  fissure  of  Rolando  and  the  fissiire  of 
Sylvius.  The  former  is  marked  by  the  letter  R  in  the  plate  and  the  lat- 
ter by  the  letter  S. 

Recent  study  of  the  brain  has  shown  that  certain  areas  of  the  cere- 
brum are  concerned  with  certain  functions,  some  being  primarily  con- 
cerned in  receiving  stimulations  from  the  sense-organs  and  others  in 
controlling  movements  in  the  body. 

Sensory  Areas,  (i)  Cutaneous  sensations  are  localized  just  back  of 
the  fissure  of  Rolando  (marked  by  a  C  in  the  plate).  Stimulations 
from  the  leg  are  localized  at  the  top  of  this  area  and  over  on  the  inside 
surface,  stimulations  from  the  trunk  are  localized  further  down  toward 
the  fissure  of  Sylvius,  and  stimulations  from  the  head  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  area  not  far  from  the  fissure.  Destruction  of  this  area  does  not 
affect  all  varieties  of  cutaneous  sensations  equally.  "The  pain  sense  is 
little  or  not  at  all  affected,  except  temporarily ;  the  sense  of  presssure 
and  contact  is  considerably  more  diminished;  the  temperature  sense  is 
so  much  reduced  that  only  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  are  perceived; 
the  muscular  sense  is  almost  entirely  destroyed ;  and  the  perception  of 
form,  size,  location,  etc.,  by  use  of  the  hand  is  usually  abolished."* 

(2)  Visual  sensations  are  localized  in  the  occipital  region  of  the  cere- 
brum, marked  by  a  "V"  in  the  plate.  "It  would  appear  likely  that  the 
retinas  are  j)rojecte(l,  point  for  point,  tho  perhaps  not  quite  so  min- 
utely as  this,  upon  the  visual  cortex."** 

Injuries  to  certain  parts  of  the  visual  area  produce  blindness  as  re- 
lated to  corresponding  parts  of  the  retina.  We  may  speak  of  two  types 
of  localization  here :  one  which  deals  with  the  reception  of  the  simple 
stimulations  received  from  the  eye — corresponding  to  awareness  of 
brightness  or  color,  and  the  other  which  deals  with  the  interpre- 
tation of  these  simple  stimulations  going  to  make  up  definite  objects,  as 
yellow  square,  a  house,  or  what  not.  Injuries  to  the  more  outlying 
parts  of  the  visual  area  result  in  loss  of  ability  to  recognize  objects,  or 
to  read,  or  to  utilize  vision  for  purposes  of  orientation.  In  such  cases 
the  patient  can  still  see,  but  has  lost  some  of  the  uses  of  sight.  Such 
cases  are  referred  to  as  psychic  blindness. 

*Lad<l  and  Woodworth,  op.   cit.,  p.  245. 
•  •Ladd  and   Woodworth,   op.   cit.,  p.   24B. 


LKSSON   41  225 

(3)  Auditory  sensations  are  localized  below  the  fissure  of  Sylvius, 
and  appear  a  little  above  where  the  H  occurs  in  the  plate.  In- 
juries to  this  area,  as  in  the  case  of  the  visual  area,  produce  total  deaf- 
ness or  psychic  deafness.  The  latter  is  illustrated  by  such  cases  as  in- 
ability to  understand  spoken  words,  or  to  apprehend  melodies. 

(4)  Olfactory  and  taste  sensations  are  located  in  a  great  loop 
about  the  corpus  callosiim. 

The  Motor  Area.  Voluntary  control  of  muscles  of  the  body  is 
located  in  an  area  just  across  the  fissure  of  Rolando  from  the  cutane- 
ous sensation  area.  And  here  again  as  in  the  case  of  that  area,  the 
legs  are  represented  by  the  upper  part  of  this  area,  the  body  next,  the 
arms  ne.xt,  and  the  head  at  the  lower  end.  In  this  area  are  the  largest 
nerve-cells  in  the  body.  Their  axons  descend  thru  the  mid-brain  and 
cells.    Axons  from  the  latter  proceed  out  to  the  muscles  of  the  body. 

In  paralysis  we  have  a  condition  in  which  the  motor  connection 
spinal  cord  and  there  come  in  contact  with  the  dendrites  of  other  motor 
with  the  muscle  has  \yeen  destroyed.  If  the  injury  is  in  the  motor- 
cells  of  the  cerebrum  the  paralysis  relates  only  to  voluntary  move- 
ments, while  reflexes  of  the  spinal  and  mid-brain  level  are  not  or- 
dinarily affected.  If  the  injury  is  in  the  spinal  cord  but  above  the  mo- 
tor-cells in  the  cord  then  the  mid-brain  reflexes  are  destroyed  as  well 
as  all  habitual  movements.  If  finally  the  injury  is  in  the  motor-cells  of 
the  s[)inal  cord  then  there  results  complete  paralysis  of  the  muscles  of 
the  body  controlled  from  that  part  of  the  spinal  cord. 

Another  type  of  paralysis  is  due  not  to  a  destruction  of  the  motor 
connections  but  to  a  destruction  of  the  sensory  side  of  the  arc.  This 
type  is  found,  for  example,  in  tabes  dorsalis.  The  incoming  kin- 
aesthetic  sensations  are  largely  eliminated  because  the  sensory  con- 
nections are  destroyed.  Walking  is  seriously  interfered  with  because 
you  cannot  sense  just  where  your  leg  is  at  any  moment.  Thru  train- 
ing such  individuals  may  be  taught  to  guide  their  movements  not  as 
they  have  done  in  the  past  in  terms  mainly  of  kinaesthetic  stimulations 
but  in  terms  of  visual  stimulations.  In  this  way  they  are  able  to  walk 
with  little  suggestion  of  "drunkenness." 

The  Parietal  Lobes  (marked  PA  in  the  Plate)  are  situated  between 
the  cutaneous  sensation  area  and  the  visual  area.  Injuries  to  these 
lobes  are  distinguished  by  disturbances  in  ability  to  connect  Ideas  and 
sensations  with  their  proper  companions.  For  example,  a  file  touched 
in  the  dark  does  not  call  up  the  idea  of  a  file  as  seen.  In  other  words, 
things  seen  are  not  connected  up  with  their  auditory  or  tactual  appear- 
ance and  hence  are  improperly  understood  and  interpreted. 

Frontal  Lobes.    Injuries  to  the  frontal  lobes  seem  to  be  marked  by 


226  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY   FOR  TEACHERS 

"disorders  of  attention/'  concentration,  and  the  higlier  mental  and 
emotional  capacities.  "An  addiction  to  practical  jokes  of  a  weak  order, 
with  lack  of  respect  for  proi)erty  or  the  rights  of  others  has  been  fre- 
quently observed.  On  the  other  hand,  in  some  remarkable  cases  of 
destruction  of  large  parts  of  the  frontal  lobe,  no  marked  symptoms 
whatever  have  appeared."  This  is  true  more  particularly  of  the  right 
frontal  lobe  than  of  the  left.  Franz  first  taught  a  cat  and  monkey  a 
trick,  then  removed  parts  of  the  frontal  lobe.  In  general  the  trick  was 
no  longer  known.  Injury  to  only  part  of  the  lobe  resulted  in  simply 
slowing  down  the  time  of  performance.  Franz  concludes  that  "the 
frontal  lobes  are  concerned  in  the  acquisition  of  new  performances,  but 
that  no  one  spot  is  indispensable  for  the  acquisition  of  a  particular  act ; 
and  that  long  continued  practice  in  a  performance  reduces  it  to  an 
automatic  or  semi-reflex  condition,  in  which  the  frontal  lobes  are  no 
longer  necessary."* 

Association  Centers.  A  rather  small  portion  of  the  surface  of  the 
cortex  is  thus  far  accounted  for.  How  shall  we  explain  the  function  of 
the  remainder  of  the  brain's  surface?  The  l>est  authorities  would  ex- 
ptain  the  function  of  this  remainder  as  one  of  association,  or  of  con- 
nection. By  this  is  meant  that  here  the  stimulations  from  the  various 
sense-organs  are  combined  together,  thus  affording  responses  which 
are  appropriate  to  the  whole  sensory  stimulation. 

For  example,  the  reflex  act  would  be  to  drop  a  flat-iron,  if  the 
handle  were  too  hot.  But  if  there  were  a  kitten  on  the  floor  at  one's 
feet  the  resulting  action  would  be  to  throw  the  iron  into  a  corner  or  to 
hold  on  to  it  until  safely  replaced  on  the  stove.  In  the  second  case  the 
reflex  act  is  prevented  by  the  visual  stimulation — the  si<jht  of  the  kit- 
ten. In  such  a  case  the  cerebral  cortex  was  directing  the  movement  of 
carrying  the  hot  iron.  The  reflex  act  of  dropping  was  inhibited  (when 
the  iron  was  put  back  on  the  stove)  or  directed  into  a  new  movement 
(throwing  the  iron)  by  the  stimulation  coming  from  the  eye.  The  as- 
sociation centers  are  supposed  to  be  responsible  for  such  coordinated 
action. 

Before  leaving  this  subject  attention  should  be  called  to  the  fact  that 
the  four  phases  of  knowledge  of  a  language  are  generally  considered 
to  be  located  in  four  different  parts  of  the  cerebrum.  Ability  to  read 
is  localized  in  the  visual  area,  ability  to  understand  spoken  words  is 
localized  in  the  auditory  area,  ability  to  speak  is  localized  in  the  motor 
area  near  the  center  governing  muscles  of  the  head,  and  ability  to  write 
is  localized  in  the  motor  area  near  the  center  governing  arm  move- 
ments.    It  is  then  possible  thru  a  particular  brain  injury  to  lose  the 

*Ladd  and  Woodworth,  op.  cit.,  p.  262-63. 


LESSON  41  227 

ubiliiy  to  read  but  still  to  understand  what  another  says,  or  to  speak 
himself  and,  what  is  even  more  surprising,  to  be  able  to  write,  altho,  of 
course,  unable  to  read  what  he  has  written.  The  teaching  of  English, 
for  example,  must  consequently  be  viewed  as  the  development  of  four 
groups  of  habits,  instead  of  one.  It  is  not  enough  to  train  a  student 
to  write  good  English ;  he  must  also  be  trained  specifically  to  speak 
good  English.  There  is  no  doubt  that  training  in  one  of  these  four 
groups  aids  in  the  other  three.  But  too  much  reliance  has  been  placed 
upon  this  in  the  past  Since  it  is  a  fact  that  the  brighter  the  child 
the  greater  will  be  this  transfer,  and  the  duller  the  child  the  less  the 
transfer,  teachers  should  deliberately  aim  to  develop  all  four  groups 
for  the  sake  of  the  dull  child. 

FUNDAMENTAL    AND  ACCESSSORY    SYSTEMS 

Another  method  of  grouping  the  complicated  functions  of  the  nerv- 
ous system  is  to  refer  to  them  under  the  two  headings — fundamental 
S)stem  and  accessory  system.  These  terms  are  used  so  frequently  it 
is  desirable  to  become  familiar  with  them  in  this  course. 

''The  nerve-centers  of  vertebrates  may  be  considered  as  consisting 
of  ( I )  a  fundamental  system,  comprising  the  spinal  cord  and  brain- 
stem, and  (2)  accessory  organs  developed  as  outgrowths  of  the  brain 
stem,  the  chief  of  these  being  the  cerebellum  and  cerebrum.  (See 
Plate  XXXVI.)  The  development  of  the  accessory  structures  is  very 
unequal  in  different  forms  of  vertebrate  animals:  the  size  of  the  cere- 
bellum being  closely  related  to  the  animal's  powers  of  locomotion,  and 
the  size  of  the  cerebrum  with  his  powers  of  learning  new  and  specific 
adaptations.  The  fundamental  system  is,  on  the  other  hand,  fairly 
constant  thruout  the  vertebrate  series.  This  is  especially  true  of  the 
spinal  cord,  the  size  of  which  seems  to  depend  almost  wholly  on  the 
size  of  the  animal."* 

The  fundamental  system  consists  of:  (i)  Sensory  ganglia  which 
lie  just  outside  the  spinal  cord.  (In  Plate  XXX  of  Lesson  34  one 
sensory  neurone  is  shown  extending  from  the  skin  to  B  into  the  spinal 
cord  at  L.  Its  nerve-cell  is  at  K.  A  cluster  of  such  nerve-cells  is  called 
a  ganglia.)  From  these  ganglia  fibres  extend  out  to  the  sense-organs 
of  the  body  on  the  one  hand  and  into  the  spinal-cord  on  the  other. 
It  is  in  this  way  that  the  sense-organs  are  connected  with  the  spinal- 
cord,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  sense  of  smell.  Here  the  sense- 
organs  send  out  their  own  fibres  which  extend  into  the  brain.  (2)  ^fo- 
tor-cells,  which  lie  within  the  spinal-cord,  branches  of  which  pass  out 
to  the  muscles.  (3)  Central-cells,  whose  branches  do  not  extend  to 
sense-organs  or  muscles,  but  which  run  up  or  down  or  across  in  the 

*L«dcl  and  Woodworth^  op.  ctt..  26. 


228  INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 

spinal-cord  and  so  bring  all  the  different  parts  into  connection.  Most  of 
these  fibres  are  short,  but  there  are  some  sets  of  lonj^  ones,  which  con- 
nect the  spinal-cord  directly  with  the  mid-brain.  The  usefulness  of 
these  connecting  fibres  can  be  readily  appreciated  as  by  means  of  them 
the  impressions  from  all  the  sense-organs  may  be  combined  and  thus 
movements  may  result  which  are  in  harmony  with  the  information  re- 
ceived from  eye,  ear,  nose,  etc. 

The  accessory  system  is  composed  principally  of  the  cerebellum  and 
cerebnim.  In  terms  of  evolution,  these  are  recent  additions  to  the 
nervous  system,  as  contrasted  with  the  elements  making  up  the  funda- 
mental system.  The  functions  of  these  two  organs  has  already  been 
discussed.  In  addition,  the  accessory  system  is  characterized  by  long 
nerve  fibres  which  connect  the  cerebrum  more  directly  with  lower  cen- 
ters. These  nerve  fibres  are  spoken  of  as  "long"  in  contrast  with  the 
short  interconnections  of  the  fundamental  system.  But  the  accessory 
system,  as  already  pointed  out,  never  receives  stimulations  from  sense- 
organs  (excepting  smell)  ncr  transmits  stimulations  on  to  the  muscles 
except  by  the  way  of  the  fundamental  system. 

SUMMARY 

Review  again  Lesson  34  at  this  point.  Lessons  34  to  41  l^ave  been 
presented  especially  to  give  a  more  definite  conception  of  what  the 
terms  "situation,"  "bond"  and  "response"  mean.  A  situation  means 
the  sum  total  of  all  factors  stimulating  the  organism.  Physiologicallv 
the  term  comprises : 

the  external  stimuli, 

the  stimulated  sense-organs, 

the  transmission  of  the  stimulation  over  the  sensory  nerve-fibres. 
The  term  bond  comprises : 

the  transmission  of  the  stimulation  from  the  sensory  nerve-fibrrs 

to  connecting    (intermediate)    nerve-fibres    and    from    them    to 

motor  nerve-cells. 
And  the  term  response  comprises  : 

the  arousal  of  the  motor  nerve-cells, 

the  transmission  of  the  stimulation  over  the  motor  nerve-fibres  to 

the  muscles. 

the  contraction  of  the  muscles. 

The  most  important  phase  of  the  whole  series  as  it  affects  teach- 
ing is  comprised  in  the  term  lx)nd.  For  under  this  heading  we  group 
the  formation  of  new  bonds  (the  process  of  learning),  the  development 
of  these  bonds  to  a  good  working  condition  (development  of  skill  thru 
practise),  the  future  use  of  these  bonds  when  the  situation  is  again  en- 
countered (memorvy.  etc. 


LESSONS  42,  43  and  44.  GENERAL  REVIEW. 

'I'he  42nd  class-hour  will  be  devoted  to  a  general  discussion  of 
Lesson  41. 

The  43rd  class-hour  will  be  devoted  to  a  general  review  of  the  whole 
course. 

The  44th  class-hour  will  be  devoted  to  a  final  examination  on  the 
course. 

GENERAL  REVIEW  OF  THE  COURSE 

The  course  apparently  divides  up  into  three  parts,  i.  e. — 

1.  The  Learning  Process. 

2.  Individual  Differences. 

3.  Physiological  Mechanism. 

But  the  main  conception  around  which  everything  else  is  built  is  that 
man's  behavior  must  be  thought  of  in  terms  of  Situation,  Bond  and 
Response.  In  Lessons  34  to  41  the  physiological  mechanism  was  brief- 
ly presented  so  that  the  terms  would  be  more  correctly  and  definitely 
understood.  In  Lessons  i  to  20  various  concrete  cases  were  presented 
such  as  a  lesson  in  the  first  grade,  learning  mirror-drawing,  commit- 
ting a  vocabulary  to  memory,  etc.,  and  the  various  details  analyzed  into 
situation,  bond,  and  response;  and  in  Lessons  21  to  23  thru  a  study  ©i 
individual  differences  it  was  pointed  out  that  individuals  differ  as  re- 
gards the  inherent  make  up  of  their  nervous-system  (i.  e.  the  inherent 
nature  of  the  "bond")  and  also  because  they  have  had  different  situa- 
tions presented  to  them  in  the  past  to  which  they  have  reacted.  (That 
is,  the  environment  has  differed  and  hence  their  training,  since  train- 
ing is  a  resultant  of  bond  changes  due  to  reacting  to  situations.) 

Learning  is  reduced  consequently  to  making  connections — forming 
new  Ixjnds.  And  teaching  becomes  the  art  and  science  whereby  proper 
situations  are  presented  so  that  children  will  react  as  desired.  In  so  re- 
acting new  bonds  are  constantly  being  formed  and  old  bonds  as  con- 
stantly being  strengthened  thru  use.  Lessons  45  to  88,  which  ap- 
pear as  another  volume,  are  devoted  to  a  much  more  detailed  considcra  - 
tion  of  this  whole  subject. 

Due  to  the  fact  that  individuals  are  confronted  by  different  situa- 
tions in  life  and  that  there  are  great  differences  in  the  structure  of  their 
nervous  systems,  no  two  persons  learn  in  exactly  the  same  way  or  with 
the  same  facility.  On  the  whole  the  majority  of  individuals  are  much 
alike  and  can  be  handled  en  masse,  but  many  learn  much  more  rapidly 
than  this  average  group  and  as  many  learn  less  rapidly.  Because  oi 
this  condition,  in  order  to  handle  children  efficiently  in  school,  it  is 
necessary  to  analyze  the  causes  of  each  child's  behavior  in  order  to 

229 


230  INTRODUCTORY    PSYCHOLOGY    FOR    TEACHERS 

pi  escribe  the  proper  methods  for  his  greatest  development.  This  is 
being  done  in  many  cities  today  with  respect  to  the  dullest  of  children 
but  it  must  be  done  eventually  with  res{>ect  to  all  pupils  before  we  shall 
have  arrived  at  a  scientific  type  of  instruction. 

Realization  of  what  this  problem  of  individual  diflferences  means 
gives  us  a  new  point  of  view  with  regard  to  the  whole  subject  of  edu- 
cation. And  not  only  must  we  view  education  in  a  new  way  but  also 
all  social  problems.  The  handling  of  the  criminal,  of  the  pauper,  of 
the  incompetent  worker,  etc.,  becomes  a  dififerent  proposition.  A\- 
ready,  on  every  hand,  are  there  evidencs  that  the  new  point  of  view  is 
having  its  eiTect.  Changes  in  our  penal  institutions,  the  rise  of  Juvenile 
Courts,  of  indeterminate  sentences,  of  parole  from  penitentiaries,  the 
interest  in  eugenics,  in  scientific  vocational  guidance,  in  personnel  work, 
etc.,  are  all  related  to  each  other — all  manifestations  of  this  same  new 
point  of  view,  altho  expressed,  it  is  true,  very  differently  by  dififerent 
workers. 

In  the  field  of  education  the  overlapping  of  children  in  the  several 
grades  is  being  studied  from  many  angles  and  ere  long  a  more  satisfac- 
tory solution  to  this  phase  of  individual  differences  will  appear.  The 
old  schemes  for  grading  students  are  doomed  and  new  ones  based  on 
our  further  knowledge  of  how  children  differ  are  taking  their  place. 

The  student  who  has  not  simply  learned  about  these  things  but 
has  formed  the  habit  of  analyzing  educational  proiblems  into  situations 
and  responses  has  gained  something  which  will  help  him  in  all  his 
work.  As  an  aid  in  making  such  analyses  this  course  has  been  de- 
vised to  develop  the  habits  of  thinking  about  learning  in  tenms  of  a  curve 
and  of  reacting  to  a  problem  by  asking  these  questions : 
(i)  What  specifically  is  my  problem —  the  problem. 

(2)  How  may  I  study  this  problem — the  procedure. 

(3)  What  are  my  facts — the  results. 

(4)  What  do  the  facts  mean — the  interpretation. 

(5)  How  can  I  use  the  deductions — the  application. 

Whether  a  student  has  gotten  these  things  from  the  course  or  not 
eventually  comes  down  to  whether  he  has  the  ability  to  acquire  such 
complicated  conceptions  (bonds)  and  has  had  the  industry  to  develop 
them. 


231 


INDEX 


Accessory  system,  22yf[ 

Accommodation,  197 

Alphabet,  learning  of,  i2ff,  23fi,  2;ff, 

Angell,  J.  R.,  45,  200,  214,  220ft 

Anthony,  Kate,  40 

Army  intelligence  test,  133ft' 

Associate  shifting,  65fiF,  93 

Astigmatism,  198 

Attitude 

affects  speed  and  accuracy,  38 
problem,  5off 
relation  to  learning,  48flf 
self-attentive,  49ff 
suggestible,  soff 
Average  deviation 

method  of  obtaining,  g&S 

use  of,  as  a  measure  of  a  group, 

I04flf 
use  of,  as  a  measure  of  individ- 
ual differences,  107S,  139 
B  and  B-X  Test,  i09ff,  i62flf 
Bagley.  W.  C,  45 
Behavior,  6,  i8ff,  21  ff.  42.  177 
Belief,  10 
Book,  W.  F.,  57 
Bond,  30ff,  42ff,  92ff.  ^77 
definition  of,  228 
factors  affecting  strength  of,  81  fF 
learned  or  nnlearned,  92,  96 
mechanism  of,  iSoff 
Bradshaw,  Annie  E.,  61 
Breese,  B.  B.,  45 
Brinton.  W.  C,  47 
Bryan,  W.  L..  57 
Catkins,  M.  W.,  45 
Carroll,  Martha,  160 
Cattell,  J.  McK.,  132 
Cerebellum,  221 
Cerebrum,  221  flf 

Coefficient  of  correlation,  98,  169!? 
meaning  of,  172 
method  of  obtaining,  i7off 
use  of,  in  psycholog>'  and  educa- 
tion,  I73ff 
Color-blindness,  198 
Colvin,  S.  S.,  45 
Complex,  9 

Conduct,  evaluation  of,  8 
Consciousness,  14,  183,  223 
Cortical  level,  221  ff 


Courtis  .Arithmetic  Tests,  I36ff,  164 

Courtis,  S.  A.,  137,  138,  167 

Courtis  Standard  Practice  Tests,  i66ff 

Cretinism,   136 

Crile,  G.  W.,  137,  221 

Defective  vision,  I97fl? 

de  Fursac,  J.  R.,  16 

Dementia  praecox,  10 

Denny,  C.  C,  105 

Distance,  how  estimated,  201  flf.  211  flf 

Drill,  43.  68 

Dunlap,  K.,  45 

Ebbinghaus,  H.,  74,  75,  79 

Emotion.   210 

Environment,  as  cause  of  individual 

differences,  iisff,  159!? 
Exhaustion,  see  Fatigue 
Experiments,  see  Table  of  Contents 
for  list  of,  4 
instructions  for  writing  tjp,  24H, 
32 
Eye,  I93ff 

accommodation,  convergence,  di- 
vergence, 197 
color-blindness,  198 
defective  vision,  197 
nature  of  light  stimulus,  194^ 
structure  of,  i93flF 
Fatigue,  207ff 

exhaustion,  2o8ff 
rest  periods,  relation  to,  11,  207 
Feeling,  relation  to  learning.  48ff^  51  ff 
Flight  of  ideas,  10 
Franz,  S.  I.,  226 
Freeman.  F.  N.,  45.  208 
Garrison,  S.  C,  174 
Gates,  A.  I.,  72 
Goitre,  136 
Gordon,  Kate,  45,  64 
Grades  (marksl  for  scholarship,  I40ff 
how  to  grade  papers,  isiff 
how  to  record  grades,  isaff 
Habits,  92flF,  94.  see  Learning 

dependent  upon  kinaesthetic  stim- 
uli, i9off 
motor  habits,  190 
physiological  mechanism  of,  2i8 
language,  227 
flart.  B..  9 
Harter.  N.,  57 
Heck,  W.  H.,  208 


232 


INTRODUCTORY   PSYCHOLOGY  FOR  TEACHERS 


Heredity,  as  cause  of  individual  dif- 
ferences, iisf?,  159ft' 
Hollingworth,  H.  L.,  89 
Howell,  W.  H.,  137,  198,  200,  211,  220 
Hyde,  Blanch  E.,  190 
Individual     Differences,    gSflF,     looff, 
I03ff,  logfi,  iisff,  i26ff,  i29fT, 
i43fT,  i55ff,  i59ff 
ability    of    children,    how    diag- 
nose, I55flf 
causes  of,  iisfF 

general  law  as  to  how  individu- 
als differ,  i26fT 
initial  and  final  ability  in  learn- 
ing, relationship  of,  loSff,  173 
in  intelligence,  131  ff 
in  learning,  I04ff 

arithmetical       work,       io9ff, 

I22ff,  I37ff,  I55ff,  i6iff 
mirror-drawing,  lOofT,  I04ff 
Kansas  Silent  Reading  Test, 
losff,  I34ff 
measured  by  A.  D.,  98ff,  io7ff 
relation  to  educational  problems, 

i65ff,  229 
typified  by  a  normal  surface  of 
distribution,  177 
Instincts,  92ff,  94 
Interference,  84ff,  165,  216 
Intermediate  level,  220 
James,  W.,  45 
Jastrow,  Joseph,  172 
Judd,  C.  H.,  45 
Kansas    Silent    Reading    test,    lOSfT, 

I33ff,  I37ff 
Kelley,  Truman  L.,  174 
Labor  turn-over,  179 
Ladd,  G.  T.,  45,  57,  194,  201,  2ti,  214, 

216,  220,  224fF 

Language,  21 

physiological  basis,  227 
Learning,  96fF,  229ff 

definition  of,  42,  229 

habits,  or  memories,  77 

law,s  of,  42 

learning  and  saving  methods,  80 

planned  or  "accidental,  53flF 

releaming,  77fF 

types  of,  42ff' 

typified  by  a  learning  curve,  177 

warming-up,  78 
Learning  Curves 

characteristics  of,  27flF ;  flucta- 
tions  in,  28,  42;  physiological 
limit,  38ff,  42,  162;  plateau, 
38ff 

effect  of  attitude  upon,  49 


effect  of  previous  training  upon, 

iiSff 
effect  of  differences  in  heredity 

upon,  I20ff 
equation  of,  163 
examples  of,  13,  38,  117,  119,  121, 

123,  125,  156,  157 
how  to  plot  a  curve,  24ff,  46ff; 
"amount"       versus      "time," 
Ii7ff 

diagnosis  of  ability,  161  ff 
use  of,  in  teaching,  I59ff,  177;  in 
Lesson,  object  of,  22 
Levels  of  nerve  action,  181  ff 
Lickley,  J.  D.,  201,  221 
Luh,  C.  W.,  61 
McDougall  W.,  220 
McGahey,  Mary  L.,  41 
Memory,  see  Retention 
Method,  relation  to  learning,  48ff 
Meyer,  Max,  45,  145,  149 
Mid-brain,  220 
Mirror-drawing      experiment,      32ff, 

37S,  44ff,  48ff,  lOoff.  I03ff 
Moron,  132 
Muscle,  action  of  biceps,  205ff 

action  of  nervous  current  upon, 

206ff 

mechanism    by    which    responses 
are  made,  183 
Nerve-cell,  see  Neurone 
Nervous  system, 

accessory  system,  227 

cerebellum,  221 

cerebrum,  22 iff 

fundamental  system,  227 

mid-brain,  2i8ff 

motor  area  of,  225 

sensory  area  of,  224ff 
Neurone 

description  of,  2T5ff 

mechanism  by  which  sense-or- 
gans and  muscles  are  con- 
nected, i83ff 

motor,  184.  227 

sensory,  184,  216.  227 
Norm,  106 
Normal  curve  of  distribution,  98,  131 

applied  to  grading  scholarship, 
T47ff 

surface  of  distribution.  I28ff 

typifies      individual      differences, 

177 
Overflow  of  energy,  94 
Paralysis,  225 

Partial  identity,  law  of,  66f[,  77 
Pavlov,  J.  P.,  63 


iN»eK 


233 


Perception,  94ff,  201 

space  — ,  201  ff 
Phillips,  M.,  113 
Physiological  aspects   of  psyckology, 

i8off 
Physiological  limit,  sSfi,  42,  162 
Pillsbury,  W.  B.,  4S,  201,  214,  221 
Plateau,  38ff 
Poffenberger,  A.  T.,  218 
Prompting  method,  68 
Psychology,  definition  of,  6.  14 

scope  of,  5iT,  14 
Reading,  i6ff,  21  ff,  losff,  226fF 
Recall  memory,  16,  22,  80 
Recognition  memory,  16,  22,  80 

recognition   method  of   studying 
retention,  80 
Reflexes,  92fT,  iSifi" 
Response,  8,  i8fF.  2iff,  29,  42,  177,  210 

definition  of,  20Q,  228 

mechanism  of,  i8off,  205f¥ 
Retention,  69ft,  73tif 

amount  of  practise,  etVect  upon, 

74 

curve  of  forgetting,  75 

memorizing  a  vocabulary,  57ff, 
6ifif 

memory  span,  7off,  80 

methods  employed  in  studying, 
79ff ;  prompting,  68 ;  learn- 
ing and  saving,  80;  recogni- 
tion, 80 

motor  habits,  76 

memonic  devices  in  memorizing, 
67ff 

over-learning,  76 

physiological  basis  for,  76flF,  218 

primary  and  secondary,  78ff 

recall  memory,  16,  22 

recognition  memory,  16,  22 

relearning.  yj 

rote  memory,  62ff,  84 

time  interval,  effect  upon,  74ff 

warming-up,  78 
Rosanoff,  A.  J.,  10 
Ruger,  H.  A.,  49,  50,  57 
Scientific  management,  12 
Seashore,  C.  E.,  45 
Sensations,  auditory,  I99ff. 

cutaneous,  i84ff 

definitions  of,  184 

fusion  of  visual  and  tactual,  199 

gustatory,  I99ff 

kinaesthetic,  i86ff,  21  iff 


organic,  I99ff 

simple  and  compound,  i88f¥,  201 

static,  I99ff 

visual,  i95ff,  21  iff 

Sense-organ,  cutaneous,  i84ff 
kinaesthetic,  iS7ff,  21  iff 
mechanism  which  receives  stimu- 
lations, 183 
visual.  I93ff,  21  iff 

Sight  spelling  lesson,  isff,  i8ff  ,22ff,  31 

Situation,  6,  iSff,  21  ff,  29,  42,  177 
complex,  9,  19 
definition  of,  I9iff,  228 
mechanism  of,  i8oft',  i84ff 
nature  of  visual  stimuli,  i94ff 

Spelling,  I5ff 

Starch,  D..  57 

Stereoscope,  203,  211  ff 

Stiles,  C.  W.,      71 

Stiles,  P.  G.,  211,  22T 

Stimulus,  see  Situation  and  Sensation 
cutaneous.  9'    i84ff 
kinaesthetic,  95,  i86ff,  21  iff 
summation  of,  67 
visual,   I94ff,  ^n 

Stratton,  G.  M.,  I99,  214 

Summation  of  stimuli,  67 

Synapse,  2i6ff 

Tarkington,  Booth,  6 

Teaching,  definition  of.  18,  96,  229 

Tests 

B  and  BX  Tests,  igoS,  i62ff 
Courtis  Arithmetic,  I36ff,  164 
Courtis  Standard  Practise,  i66ff 
Intelligence,  Army,  I33f^ 
Kansas     Silent    Reading,     lOSff, 

I33f^.  ^37f^ 
Memory-snan.  7off,  80 
Thorndike,  E.  L..  46,  90,  208,  221 
Thurstone,  L.  L.,  163 
Thyroid  gland.  136 
Titchener,  E.  B.,  46.  203,  214 
Training,    cause    of    individual    dif- 
ferences, iisff,  I59ff 
Transfer  of  training,  56ff 
Trial  and  error,  43,  54ff,  j^fl,  93^ 
Vocabulary,  learning  of,  57ff 
Watson,  J.  B.,  46,  90.  221 
Whipple.  G.  M.,  57,  198,  I99.  201 
Wolf,  R.  B.,  161 
Woodworth,  R.   S.,  45.  57.   194.  201, 

211,   214,   216,    220,   224ff 

Writing,  i6ff,  32,  226ff 
Yerkes,  R.  M.,  174 


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